
Class f\ %r 

Book . WG 



____ 



CopyiightK?_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



STUDY BOOK 



IN 



ENGLISH LITERATURE 

FROM CHAUCER TO THE CLOSE OF 
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 



BY 
E. R. HOOKER 



BOSTON, U.SA. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1910 



3 



\V 






Copyright, 1910, 
By D. C. Heath & Co. 



C/CI.A256491 



PREFACE 

This Study Book in English Literature does not 
contain history of literature, literary biography, philosophy, 
^^ or criticism. These things are already set forth in many 
excellent text-books. Teachers of English literature, how- 
ever, need also a text-book of a different sort. Believing in 
the creed of modern pedagogy, and especially in that funda- 
mental article, the importance of the inductive method, they 
have been obliged, in the absence of an adequate manual, 
to sacrifice much of their crowded time to preparing, each 
one for himself, assignments of reading, bibliographies, 
topics for study, and lists of essay subjects. It has then 
been necessary to get these things before the students by 
such cumbrous methods as dictation or copying upon the 
blackboard. Some of the more recent text-books, indeed, 
indicate a growing sense of need by including bibliogra- 
phies, more or less fragmentary, and scattered suggestions 
for study. But there has been heretofore no comprehensive 
outline of w T ork frankly based on the inductive method. 

Such a book is needed in several different fields : in 
colleges, for use in connection with the almost universal 
preliminary survey of English literature ; in high schools, 
in fourth-year courses for students not preparing for col- 
lege ; in normal schools ; in private schools ; and in case 
of individual students studying with or without a teacher. 
This hypothetical text-book should embody the principles 
of modern pedagogy ; and it should outline a course at once 
brief and comprehensive, a course covering the greater part 



iv PREFACE 

of the history of English literature, and yet capable of 
being completed in one year. Such a text-book has been 
attempted in this Study Book in English Literature. 

In the endeavor to meet the difficult and diverse require- 
ments we have just been considering, I have adopted for 
the book certain features which will now be briefly indicated. 
The method is inductive. In such a subject as literature 
this implies, to begin with, the use of the so-called library 
method. The book therefore includes bibliographies, refer- 
ences, and lists of reading. Through these and through 
topics for study, the student is led to collect his own facts 
and to form his own opinions. In the choice of material 
and the manner of presentation, a distinct effort has been 
made to rouse and keep the interest of the student. Vari- 
ous methods are used to bring about symmetrical develop- 
ment: the topics are not intended merely to test the 
memory, but also to develop the power of clear, logical, 
and independent thinking, and to stimulate the imagina- 
tion and so, indirectly, the emotions. The mature student 
is gradually and cautiously led to form his own aesthetic 
judgments. 

The Study Book, moreover, that it may more fully 
embody the inductive method, is progressive. It centers 
attention first on subject matter, and later on manner of 
presentation. It deals with larger matters of structure 
before taking up details of style. Again, as the book pro- 
ceeds, the work laid out presupposes increasing maturity 
on the part of the student ; and the directions both to the 
teacher and to the student grow fewer and less precise. 
The greater amount of direction provided in the earlier 
part of the book, and the lessening of such assistance toward 
the end, may cause the first chapters to seem disproportion- 
ately long. But the actual work laid out will not require 



PREFACE V 

an amount of the student's time out of proportion to the 
importance of the subject treated. 

To adapt the book for practical use in classes of widely 
different degrees of maturity with the precision required 
by the inductive method, matter intended only for mature 
students is bracketed and printed in smaller type. Two 
courses are thus provided, each of which is meant to be 
complete, progressive, and pedagogically adapted to its 
special field. 

The method chosen, besides being inductive, is historical. 
It is historical not merely in the sense that it follows the 
chronological order, but in the sense that it presents — 
under the limitations imposed by lack of time and by the 
ignorance and immaturity of students — the literature of a 
period as molded by previous literature and by the con- 
ditions of its age. 

The course begins with Chaucer, who, though not the 
first writer of English literature, may be called the first 
writer of literature in English ; and it ends with the close 
of the Romantic Period. This limit was chosen, first, 
because it is the last definite stopping place ; secondly, 
because very recent literature cannot be studied in the 
historical and, in some degree, philosophic method here 
provided for; and, finally, because if recent authors were 
included, the methods of study, the scale of treatment, and 
the attitude toward authors could not well be uniform. 

In a brief survey of so wide a field much must be omitted. 
In this book, a sympathetic first-hand knowledge of great 
writers and movements has been preferred to a perfunctory 
acquaintance with many names, titles, and dates. The 
book deals accordingly, in large measure, with the greater 
movements, authors, and masterpieces. From the works 
of each of the greater men a rather large body of reading 



vi PREFACE 

is assigned. In so doing, the microscope is frankly and 
purposely surrendered in favor of the hilltop and the field- 
glass. From the point of view of such a general survey, 
it seems most of all desirable that the student should get 
wide perspectives, grasp salient characteristics, and acquire 
strong tastes ; in short, that whether or not he plans to take 
other formal courses in literature, he may receive both 
preparation and incentive for more detailed study in the 
future. Therefore masterpieces are presented as living- 
wholes, not as dismembered pieces ; and details are studied, 
even toward the end of the course, only as they serve to 
elucidate the central idea. 

Most of the sections of the Study Book contain matter 
of five kinds : a bibliography, a list of reading, notes to the 
teacher, topics for study, and essay subjects. The Bibli- 
ographies are comprehensive in scope. They include, it is 
hoped, only books valuable in themselves and adapted to 
the special needs of students ; yet they afford a rather wide 
range of choice, to enable students, at need, to avail them- 
selves of the limited and various resources of small libra- 
ries. They are classified, and are annotated where notes 
seem desirable. An effort has been made to bring them up 
to date. Eeferences on specific topics, frequent at first, 
grow less numerous and less detailed as the book proceeds. 

Short Notes to the Teacher at the heads of chapters and 
elsewhere have two offices : they indicate the trend of the 
chapter or exercise which follows, and they give practical 
hints to any teachers who may wish to act upon them. 
By experienced teachers they can easily be ignored. 

Topics are provided to stimulate active reading, to direct 
study, and, in the beginning, to outline recitations. In 
framing questions, great pains have been taken to avoid 
suggesting, either by the form of the question or through 



PREFACE vii 

the topics that follow, what answer is expected. Topics 
on authors' lives tend to bring out the relation between the 
man and his age, on the one hand, and the man and his 
works, on the other; and they are adapted to make the 
authors living personalities to the student. Topics in 
regard to pieces of literature deal with such large and 
vital matters as the understanding of the man through 
his work, the idea underlying the whole, the structure, and 
the characters. Questions upon aesthetic matters are re- 
served for mature students, and even for them are carefully 
safeguarded. 

The Essay Subjects are intended to correlate the study 
of literature with the study of composition, to the strength- 
ening of the student's work in both. The subjects chosen, 
in connection with the suggestions to the teacher and the 
notes for the student, form a progressive course in practical 
composition. 

I wish to express my sense of indebtedness to the pub- 
lishers, for the patience and consideration with which they 
have placed at my disposal their wide knowledge of practi- 
cal conditions in schools of every kind, and their resources 
for testing the adaptability to those conditions of this 
Study Book at the different stages through which, under 
their guidance, it has developed to its present form. 

E. R. H. 



CONTENTS 
SECTION I 



PAGE 

General Bibliography 1 

CHAPTER 

I. The Fourteenth Century 7 

II. Chaucer 19 

III. The Miracle Plays 41 



SECTION" II 
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 

IV. Bibliography 55 

Formative Influences 57 

V. Spenser 67 

VI. Bacon 77 

VII. The Development of the Drama .... 86 

VIII. Shakespeare 101 

SECTION III 
THE PURITAN AGE 

IX. Bibliography 133 

The Puritan Age 134 

X. Milton 138 

ix 



CONTEXTS 



CHAPTER 

XL 



XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 
XVI. 

XVII. 
XVIII. 



SECTION IV 
THE CLASSIC AGE 

PAGE 

Bibliography 150 

The Times 151 

Drtden . 157 

Pope . .166 

Addison and Steele . 182 

Swift 196 

Tendencies of the Classic Age and its Litera- 
ture 204 

Johnson . . . ' 211 

Goldsmith 225 



SECTION V 

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 

XIX. The Period of Transition 235 

The Romantic School 237 

XX. Wordsworth 252 

XXL Coleridge . . . . . . . . . 265 

XXII. Shelley . .274 

XXIII. Byron 287 

XXIV. Keats 296 

XXV. De Quincey 305 

XXVI. Survey of the Romantic Period .... 310 

XXVII. General Survey of English Literature . . 313 



STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

To the Teacher. — In order to adapt this and the more special bibliog- 
raphies to the use of students, an attempt has been made to include no 
books that are not really valuable, yet to give a wide enough range to 
enable the student to make use of the resources of small libraries. For this 
reason, space has been given, not only to the undying classic authorities, 
but to certain of the older works which, though not actually superan- 
nuated, are being superseded by more modern publications. In the case 
of very important matters, however, if certain works are admittedly far 
superior to all others, these alone are listed. Of this policy, the bibliog- 
raphy for Shakespeare affords an example. Works valuable for other 
ends than those proposed for this Study Book are not included in the 
bibliographies. Criticism, for example, is only sparingly represented, and 
is at first labeled "For the Teacher." Under each division, the work 
most broadly and practically useful is usually given first ; and later, 
works that are either more detailed, less valuable, or more special in 
their field. These are given in alphabetical order. Eeferences through- 
out the Study Book to works in this general bibliography, and references 
in any chapter to works given in the special bibliography for that chapter, 
are usually made by author only, when such a reference is clear. Where 
there are many editions of a work, mention is made not of library editions 
in many volumes, to which the student using a large library can easily 
obtain access without detailed knowledge of publisher, etc., but to such 
editions as for their scholarliness, convenience, and price, it would be 
most desirable for schools or students to buy. 

I. Eefekexce Books 

The Century Dictionary. Prepared under the supervision of W. 
D. Whitney. New York : The Century Company. 

New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Edited by J. 
A. H. Murray. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1888-. 

A monumental work. Especially valuable to the student of liter- 
ature in that it gives the meanings a word had at different periods. 

Encyclopaedia Britannica. London: Black. 84 vols. 

i 



2 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Sir L. Stephen and 
S. Lee. London: Smith, Elder, and Co.; New York: Macmillan. 
63 and 3 vols. Revised edition in progress. 

Scholarly. Each life by a competent authority. Bibliographies. 

The Century Cyclopedia of Names, Edited by B. E. Smith. New 
York : The Century Company. 
Very brief accounts. 

Chambers'' Cyclopaedia of English Literature. New edition, edited 
by D. Patrick. Philadelphia : Lippincott. 3 vols. 1902. 

Critical Dictionary of English Literature. S. A. Allibone. Phil- 
adelphia : Childs and Peterson. 1858. 

For the Teacher. The Library of Literary Criticism of English 
and American Authors. Edited by C. W. Moulton. Buffalo : The 
Moulton Publishing Company. 1901. 

Atlas of English History. S. R. Gardiner. London : Longmans. 

II. History 

Ploetz, C: Epitome of Universal History. Boston: Houghton. 
1883. 

Green, J. R. : A Short History of the English People. New York : 
Harper. 1 vol. edition. 

Especially valuable to the student of literature, in that it deals in a 
full and illuminating way with social and intellectual conditions. The 
edition in four volumes, though hardly equal to the shorter edition in 
respect to text, has useful illustrations. 

Gardiner, S. R. : Student's History of England. London : Long- 
mans. 1890-1891. 

Bright, J. E.: A History of England. 4 vols. London: Rivingtons. 

Gibbins, H. de B. : Industrial History of England. New York : 
Scribner. 1890. 

Guest, M. J., and Underwood, F. H. : A Handbook of English 
History. New York: Macmillan. 1898. 

Knight, C. : Popular History of England. 9 vols. Illustrated. 
London : Bradley and Evans. 1856. 

Earned, J. N. : A History of England. Boston: Houghton. 1900. 

Strickland, A. : Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman 
Conquest. Abridged by the author. Revised and edited by C. G. 
Parker. New York : Harper. 1882. 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 3 

Stubbs, W. : Constitutional History of England. New York: 
Scribner. . 3 vols. 

Traill, H. D., and Mann, J. S., editors : Social England. London : 
Cassell ; New York : Putnam. 1901-1904. 

Essays by different scholars on aspects of society at different 
periods. This edition has valuable illustrations. 

Ward, A. W., and Waller, A. R. : The Cambridge History of English 
Literature. New York : Putnam. Yol. i, 1907 ; vol. ii, 1908. In 
progress. 

III. Literary History and Criticism 

Ryland, P. : Chronological Outlines of English Literature. New 
York: Macmillan. 1890. 

Clear tabular presentation of facts in English and foreign litera- 
tures, in history and in literary biography. 

Garnett, C. B., (vols, i and ii), and Gosse, E. (vols, ii-iv) : 
English Literature. An Illustrated Becord. London and New York : 
Macmillan. 1903. 

Scholarly and philosophical, yet alive. The illustrations are very 
numerous and useful. 

Courthope, W. J. : History of English Poetry. 5 vols. London : 
Macmillan. 1895-1905. 

Craik, G. L. : A Compendious History of English Literature and 
the English Language from the Norman Conquest. New York : Scrib- 
ner. 1863. 

Gosse, E.: Short History of Modern English Literature. London: 
Heineman. 1898. New York : Stokes. 1906. 

Minto, M.: Manual of English Prose Literature. London: Mac- 
millan. Boston: Ginn. 1872. 

Careful analysis of the styles of the principal prose writers. 

Characteristics of English Poets from Chaucer to Shirley. 

Edinburgh : Blackwood. Boston : Ginn. 1874. 

Morley, H. : English Writers. London: Cassel. 1887. 

Taine, H. A., translated by H. van Laun : History of English Lit- 
erature. New York : Holt. 

The pioneer philosophic history of English literature, and perma- 
nently valuable for its broad view of causes and effects. Prejudiced 



4 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Ten Brink, B.: History of English Literature. 4 vols. New- 
York; Holt. 1893. 

IV. Text-books 

Brooke, S. A. : English Literature. New York : Macmillan. 

Primer of English Literature. New York : American Book 

Company. 

Brief but comprehensive. Practically the same as above. 

Crawshaw, W. H. : The Making of English Literature. Illustra- 
tions and map. Boston : Heath. 

Halleck, R. P. : History of English Literature. New York : 
American Book Company. 

Lucid and interesting. It does almost too much for students. 

Moody, M. V., and Lovett, R. M.: A History of English Litera- 
ture. New York : Scribner. 

Movements and their causes well brought out. 

Painter, F. Y. N. : History of English Literature. New York: 
Sibley. 

Interesting biographies of the greater writers. 

Pancoast, H. S. : An Lntrodnction to English Literature. New 
York: Holt. 

Has a reproduction of Norden's map of London in 1593. 

Phillips, M. G.: Popular Manual of English Literature. 2 vols. 
New York : Harper. 

Simonds, W. E. : Student's History of English Literature. Bos- 
ton: Houghton. 

V. Collections 

Warner, C. D., editor: Library of the World 1 s Best Literature. 
New York: Peale and Hill. 30 vols. 

Selections and critical essays, dealing with the great authors of the 
world. 

Ward, T. H., editor: The English Poets. 4 vols. London : Mac- 
millan. 1880. 

Wisely chosen selections with a critical essay on each poet by some 
well-known man of letters. 

Manly, J. M. : English Poetry. 1170-1892. Boston : Ginn. 1907. 

English Prose (as above). 1909. 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 5 

Craik, H., editor: English Prose Selections. Introduction by 
W. P. Ker. Student's edition, 5 vols. London : Macmillan. 1893. 

The group of selections from each author is preceded by an essay by 
a competent critic. 

Palgrave, F. T., compiler: Golden Treasury of English Songs and 
Lyrics. Revised and enlarged. First and Second Series. London 
and New York : Macmillan. 1899. 

Warren, K. M. : A Treasury of English Literature. London : Con- 
stable. 1906. Compiled to illustrate Stopford Brooke's English 
Literature, 

Complementary to such compilations as Palgrave's and Manly' s in 
that it includes largely work of minor writers, and the less familiar 
work of greater writers. 

VI. Series of Biographies 

Hinchman, W. S., and Gummere, F. B.: Lives of Great English 
Writers. Boston : Houghton. 1908. 
Brief reliable accounts. 

Morley, J., editor: English Men of Letters. London : Macmillan ; 
New York : Harper. 

Philosophical and critical biographies by well-known literary men. 

Robertson, E. S., editor: Great Writers. London: Walter Scott. 
Details of lives. Good indexes and bibliographies. 

Dictionary of National Biography. (See p. 2.) 

The Encyclopaedia Britannica may be consulted to advantage in 
regard to many authors. 

VII. Portraits of Authors 
Perry Picture Company, Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass. 

Braun, Clement, and Company, 257 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 

Both firms publish portraits remarkably good for the price, which is 
low. 

A. L. A. Portrait Index. Index to portraits contained in printed 
books and magazines. Edited by W. C. Lane and N. E. Browne. 
Washington : Government Printing Office. 1906. 

VII. Collections of Biographical and Critical Essays 

Arnold, M. : Essays in Criticism, First and Second Series. New 
York : Macmillan. 



6 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Carlyle, T. : Critical and Miscellaneous Essays. 5 vols. Works, 

Centenary edition. Edited by H. D. Traill. New York : Scribner. 

1809. 

De Quincey, T. : Works, Standard Library Edition. Edited by 
D. Masson. Edinburgh : Black. 14 vols. 1889-1890. 

Hazlitt, W. : Lectures on the English Poets. Edited by W. C. 
Hazlitt. London : Bell and Daldy. 1870. 

Johnson, S. : Lives of the English Poets. Edited by G. B. Hill. 
Memoir by H. S. Scott. 3 vols. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1905. 

Lowell, J. R. : Literary Essays. 4 vols. Works, Riverside edi- 
tion. Boston: Houghton. 1891. 

Macaulay, T. B. : Critical and Historical Essays. Many edi- 
tions, e.g. London : Routledge. Sir John Lubbock's Hundred Books. 
1 vol.; Dent : Temple Classics. 5 vols. ; Appleton; Longmans. 

Stephen, Sir L. : Hours in a Library. London : Smith and Elder. 
Enlarged edition. 1892. New York : Harper. 

Thackeray, W. M. : English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century. 
New edition. London : Smith and Elder. Volume xiii of Standard 
Library edition. 1883 ; Boston : Houghton. 1897. 



CHAPTER I 

THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY 

Bibliography 

I. Description of the Age 

Jusserand, J. J. : English Wayfaring Life in the XlVth Century, 
London : Putnam. Illustrated. 

Invaluable for the light it throws on the environment of Chaucer's 
Pilgrims. 

Cutts, E. L. : Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages, New 
York: Pott and Co. 1886. 

Pauli, R., translated by E. C. Otte 1 : Pictures of Old England, 
London: Macmillan. 1861. Ch. xii, i4 The London of Chaucer' w ; 
ch. i, " Canterbury. " 

Root, R. K.: The Poetry of Chaucer: A Guide to its Study and 
Appreciation. Boston: Houghton. 1006. Ch. i. 

Traill, H. D., and Mann, J. S., editors : Social England. >'■ 
York: Putnam. Illustrated edition. Vol. ii, ch. vi, especially he 
sections on "Town Life " and " Wayfaring Life." 

Warburton, W. : Edward III. London: Longmans. Epochs of 
Modern History. Last chapter, pt. ii. 

Wright, T. : History of Domestic Manners in England during ' V 
Middle Ages. Illustrated. London : Chapman. 1862. 

II. History 

General works on pp. 2, 3. 

Warburton, W. : Edward HI (as above). 

Oman, C. W. C. : England and the Hundred Years' War, Ne* 
York : Scribner. 1898. Oxford Manuals of English History. 

Pearson, C. H. : English History in the Fourteenth Century. L > 
don: Rivingtons. 1876. 

7 



7TUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Snell, F. J. : The Age of Chaucer. London : Bell. 1901. Hand- 
books of English Literature, edited by J. W. Hales. 

Coulton, G. G. : Chaucer and his England. London : Methuen. 
1008. 

III. Development of the English Language 

Gr.rnett and Gosse. (See p. 3.) Vol. i, pp. I, 2, 70-75. 

Lounsbury, T. R. : History of the English Language. New York: 
Holt. Revised edition, 1894. pp. 21-24; M-o*. 

Champneys, A. C. : History of English. London: Percival. 1893. 
Ch. ix, xii. 

IV. Historical Drama and Fiction 

Shakespeare : Richard II; 1 and 2 Henry IV. 

Mackaye, P. : The Canterbury Pilgrims. New York : Macmillan. 
1904. A drama. 

Morris, W. : Dream of John Ball. London : Longmans. 1888. 

To the Teacher. — Three lines of study, which are meant to be closely 
and constantly associated with each other, are suggested in this chapter 
and the next. They are these : 

I. Historical study, (a) Study of the causes that stimulated and con- 
ditioned the development of literary activity in England in the fourteenth 
century. (It should be kept in mind in teaching this and each succeeding 
period, that without aid most students, however well train* d :n history 
courses, will fail so to correlate their history with their literature as to be 
able to read a literary work from the point of view of a vivid and sympa- 
thetic comprehension of the age that produced it.) (6) Study of Chaucer 
as in some degree a product and an exponent of his age, and as in his turn 
an influence on his contemporaries. 

II. Biographical study, (a) Study of the life of Chaucer as condition- 
ing his character and his work; and conversely, (b) The attempt to 
infer from the poetry the personality of the writer. (Such deduction 
should be very cautious. So-calied " internal evidence " should be corre- 
lated with biographical facts and contemporary testimony.) It is not 
advised that at this early stage of the course the attempt be made to trac* 
in Chaucer's works what has been called, in relation to Shakespeare, " the 
development of his mind and art." The selections assigned for reading 
are, with one exception, from his most mature and perfect work. 

III. The study of the Canterbury Tales. To this the other lines of 
study should be made subsidiary. The student should gain (a) keen enjoy- 
ment; (b) clear understanding; and (c) some personal judgments, in most 
cases elementary. Attention should be given first to the tale under con- 



THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY 17 

The Awakening of Intellectual Activity 

12. Show how the factors mentioned below would tend to 
make people think, talk, and finally write. You will find it 
helpful to notice what happens in similar conditions to-day. 
Can you not think of abuses, for instance, which now cause 
a great amount of talking and writing? And what works 
of American literature were instigated by the evil of slavery ? 
Explain in each case just what the abuses, contrasts, etc., 
were. 

a. Abuses in the government; in the church; in social 
conditions. 

b. Contrasts, e.g., between the luxury and gayety of the 
upper classes, and the poverty and suffering of the common 
people. 

c. Changes that were taking place in politics, in society, etc. 

d. The influence of Wyclif, of the poor preachers, of Ball. 

A number of the forces contributing to the development 
of the nation should be included here also. Write them 
in your notebooks, numbering them e to i, and show as in 
the other cases why they were adapted to stimulate people's 
minds. 

j. The establishment of schools. 

[Jc. Existing literature : 
(1) In England : 

(a) Would Anglo-Saxon literature affect the literature of the four- 
teenth century? Explain. 

(b) What literary activity had there been in England in the thir- 
teenth and early fourteenth centuries ? Give an account of 

Romances in French. 
Romances in English. 
Unwritten songs and stories. 



18 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(2) On the continent : 
French literature. 
Italian literature. 
Classic literature, then being rediscovered in Italy.] 

To the Teacher.— In the case of younger students, the teacher may 
give a brief account of these matters. 

[12. What should you expect of the literature of such an age in 
regard to (a) subjects ? (b) variety ? (c) earnestness ? (d) originality ? 
(e) artistic excellence ?] 



CHAPTER II 

CHAUCER 

" . . . Who by thy philosophy dost illumine . . . the Island of the Giants, 
. . . and who hast sown the flowers and planted the rosebush for those 
who are ignorant of the tongue of Pandrasus." 

— Eustache Deschamps, Ballade Addressed to Geoffrey Chaucer. 

Bibliography 

I. Life of Chaucer 

Pollard, A. W. ; Chaucer. New York : Macmillan. 1895. Liter- 
ature Primers. 

Most convenient brief summary for students. 

Hales, J.,W.: Article in the Dictionary of National Biography. 

Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. (See 
p. 5.) 

Ward, T. H. : Chaucer. London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 
English Men of Letters Series. 

II. Works of Chaucer 

Skeat, W. W. : The StudenVs Chaucer. 1 vol. Glossary. Oxford : 
Clarendon Press. 1901. 

Most convenient, complete, and reliable one-volume edition for 
students. 

Pollard, A. W., Heath, F. H, Liddell, M. H, McCormick, W. S.: 
Works. London : Macmillan. 1899. Globe edition. 

Morris, R. : The Prologue, The Knightes Tale, The Nonne Preestes 
Tale. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1895. 

Skeat, W. W.: The Tale of the Man ofLawe, The Pardoneres Tale, 
The Chanouns Yemannes Tale. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1891. 

The Prioresses Tale, Sire Thopas y The MonkesTale, The Clerkes 

Tale, The Squieres Tale. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1891. 

19 



20 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

These three volumes from the Clarendon Press have introductions, 
notes, and glossaries, and are invaluable for detailed study. 

III. Translations 

Mackaye, P. : A Modem Rendering into Prose of the Prologue and 
Ten Tales. With pictures in color by W. A. Clark. New York : Fox, 
Duffield and Co. 1905. 

Reproduces with considerable success not only the literal sense but 
the spirit of the original. 

Clarke, C. C: Tales from Chaucer in Prose. London: Lockwood. 
1870. 

Home, R. H., editor: Chaucer Modernized. London: Whitaker. 
1841. 

Verse translations by well-known poets : Pope, Dryden, and others. 

The original text of Chaucer, if skillfully presented, need not frighten 
students. (See p. 23.) Note the following words by Landor, in answer 
to a proposal that he write such a translation : " I will have no hand 
in breaking his dun but rich-tinted glass, to put in (if clearer) much 
thinner panes. . . . Pardon me if I say I would rather see Chaucer 
quite alone, than with twenty clever gentle folks about him, arranging 
his shoe-strings and buttoning his doublet. I like even his language." 

IV. Criticism (For the Teacher) 

Courthope, W. J.: A History of English Poetry, vol. i, ch. vii. 

Garnett and Gosse, vol. i, ch. v. 

Lounsbury, T. H.: Studies in Chaucer. 3 vols. New York : Scribner. 

Essay on Chaucer in the Library of the World's Best Literature. 

Lowell, J. R. : " Chaucer," Literary Essays, vol. iii. (See p. 6.) 

Minto, W. : Characteristics of English Poets. (See p. 3.) 

Root, R. K. : The Poetry of Chaucer : A Guide to Its Study and 
Appreciation. Boston: Houghton. 1906. 

Ten Brink, vol. ii. 

Ward, T. H.: Essay on Chaucer in Ward's The English Poets, 
vol. i. 



CHAUCER 21 

Reading 

" The Xonne Preestes Tale." 

" The Prioresses Tale." 

" The Clerkes Tale." 

" The Prologue " to The Canterbury Tales. 

[" The Pardoneres Tale."] 

Memory Passages 

To the Teacher. — The memorizing hy the student of well-chosen ex- 
tracts is important as a means toward the following ends: (a) a well- 
stored memory ; (b) the habit of exactness ; (c) intensive study of passages 
which should be both great in themselves and characteristic of the author ; 
(d) the training of the ear. Absolute accuracy should always be insisted 
upon. This can be tested most conveniently through written reproduc- 
tions. In order, however, that the student may get the force of the pri- 
mary appeal of literature, which is not to the eye but to the ear, he should 
be required to master the extracts so that he can recite them orally, 
with due attention to emphasis, tone, and cadence. In the case of Chaucer, 
the student should hear the passages read aloud by the teacher, and should 
read them aloud himself under correction, before committing them to 
memory. This work should not be assigned until after the class has had 
several recitations on Chaucer. It is inserted here for convenience of ref- 
erence. 

Copy into your notebook, and commit to memory in such 
a way that you can write it, repeat it, and appreciate its 
full meaning and beauty, at least one of the following 
extracts : 

(1) Emily in the garden. "The Knightes Tale," lines 
T. 1033-1055. 

(2) Spring. " Prologue " to The Canterbury Tales, lines 
1-17. 

(3) "Truth. Balade de bon conseyl." 

The Life of Chaucer 

To the Teacher. — The biographies of Chaucer afford unusual oppor- 
tunities for distinguishing between guesswork and scholarly deduction. 



22 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

1. Using the data on pp. 14, 15, make on one large sheet 
a table of dates covering the events in the life of Chaucer, 
his writings, and the events in history and literary history 
that influenced his life, character, and work. The most 
convenient paper for the purpose is that ruled in squares, 
each large square being subdivided into smaller squares. 
The passage of time should be indicated by proportionate 
spacing. Use your own judgment as to scale, number of 
columns, and data to be included. Then with constant ref- 
erence to your table of dates show in detail how Chaucer 
was affected by the events of contemporary history and lit- 
erary history. 

2. Why is so little known about Chaucer ? 

3. What are the sources of the materials we have ? 

4. Into what station in life was Chaucer born? How 
desirable was such birth in view of his work ? 

5. Describe the London in which Chaucer lived. 

[ See Pauli ; and Besant, Sir W. : Mediaeval London. Macmillan. 

6. Give an account of his education. In what ways was 
it adapted to train him for his work as interpreter of his 
age? Describe his travels, and other formative expe- 
riences. 

7. Enumerate his occupations. Were they a hindrance 
or a help to him as a poet, and how? What do their 
number and variety show as to his ability and the quality 
of his work ? 

8. Explain the following statement : " By his origin, his 
education, his tastes, his manner of life, as well as by his 
writings, Chaucer represents the new age ; he paints it from 
nature, and is a part of it." 1 

1 Jusserand : Literary History of the English People. 



CHAUCER 23 

9. Give an account of his income : sources, amount, re- 
verses. 

10. Does the case of Chaucer support the theory that a 
poet must be a visionary, incapable of succeeding in practi- 
cal life ? 

11. Name Chaucer's poems. When was each written ? 

12. Reconstruct his daily life. 

13. Tell what you can learn about Chaucer as a student. 
How much did he read ? What ? When ? How do we 
know? 

14. From the facts of Chaucer's life, how much can we 
safely infer as to his character and feelings ? 

Reading in The Canterbury Tales 

To the Teacher. — Before the students begin to read Chaucer independ- 
ently, it is wise to spend a class period in reading aloud to them from the 
comparatively easy " Nonne Preestes Tale," the students meanwhile looking 
at the text. Between the familiar look of the words and the interpretation 
of the teacher's inflections, the class can without much help pick out the 
meaning. The classic anecdotes may in this first reading be passed over. 
Let the class notice, first, the story; then, the fun produced by writing in 
so dignified a style about a cock and a hen, and other traces of humor; 
and also, perhaps, the vividness of the descriptions. Let the students 
finish the tale outside the classroom, and re-read it, including, this time, 
the anecdotes. They should be encouraged to consult the glossary only 
when they cannot otherwise pick out the meaning. Unless considerable 
time is to be spent upon Chaucer, it is wiser not to attempt the long and 
difficult study of Middle English, even of its pronunciation; as such study 
of the language would divert attention from that study of the tales as 
literature which is our immediate concern. 

The following topics on the tales assigned for reading are intended for 
class discussion after careful preparation by the students. Results should 
then be summed up in the notebooks. Notes might follow such a uniform 
outline as the one given below, with omissions of one or more headings in 
the case of certain tales. 

(1) Type of story. 

(2) Teller, and appropriateness of his tale to each. 



24 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(3) Source, and changes made by Chaucer. 

(4) Historical basis. 

(5) Plot. 

(6) Character-drawing. 

(7) Humor. 

(8) Setting. 

(9) Meter. 

(10) What the tale tells us about Chaucer. 

(11) Quotations. 

(12 Later history of the poem. 

"The Nonke Preestes Tale" 

15. Describe in detail the circum stances under which the 
story is represented to have been told. Give an account of 
the journey, the travelers, the incidents of the way. 

16. Eeport : Pilgrimages — shrines, pilgrims, customs, etc. 

17. Eeport: The Canterbury of Chaucer's time. 
Consult Pauli. (See p. 7.) 

18. Judging simply from the evidence afforded by the 
story, what sort of man was the attendant of the prioress, 
who told the tale ? For example, was he sentimental ; 
humorous; self -centered ; observing; learned? 

[19. On p. liv of the Clarendon Press "Prologue" volume there 
is a translation of one of the versions of the story, common in the 
Middle Ages, which was Chaucer's source. In what ways is Chaucer's 
version different from this earlier rendering ? Give what explana- 
tions you can of the innovations he made. 

20. To what class of story, common in those days, does the tale 
belong ?] 

21. What is the point of the plot ? Is everything in the 
story necessary in order to lead up to this point ? For ex- 
ample, the tales told by the cock, — are they merely digres- 
sions, or have they an office in the story? 

Why are the descriptions in place ? Is suspense skilfully employed? 



CHAUCER 25 

[22. What is the meter of the poem ? Notice the number of feet in 
a line ; the kind of feet ; the rhyme scheme. What names have been 
applied to this meter ?] 

23. What can we infer from this poem about the author ? 
Has he observed nature? — Cocks? How much does he 
know about the classics ; about botany ; astrology ; meta- 
physics ? Should you call him a scholar ; a scientist ; a 
well-read man ? What signs does he show of humor ; of 
pathos ; of cynicism ; of misanthropy ; of imagination ? Did 
he himself, like the cock, believe in dreams, or disbelieve in 
them, like the hen? 

"The Prioresses Tale" 

24. Eead the description of the prioress in " The Prologue " 
to The Canterbury Tales. What sort of woman was she ? 

2o. Critics differ as to whether this story was one written 
especially for the prioress, or one Chaucer had on hand and 
simply put into her mouth. Do you see anything in the 
subject and in the manner of telling the story that is espe- 
cially appropriate to the prioress? Find in the poem a 
phrase that seems to indicate that the story was told orally 
by a woman. 

26. How common were tales with a similar plot in 
Chaucer's time? (See the last lines of the poem.) Had 
these tales a basis in fact? Explain their vogue. 

[27. To what great class of stories, common throughout the Middle 
Ages, does this tale belong ? 

For other examples in Chaucer, see "The Tale of the Man of Lawe," 
and " The Seconde Nonnes Tale."] 

28. What is the prevailing mood of the tale ? How well 
is the mood sustained? Account for the difference in mood 
between this and "The ISTonne Preestes Tale." 



26 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

29. What does the tale tell us about Chaucer ? 

In answering this question, do not forget the inferences you drew from 
" The Nonne Preestes Tale." See topics on the other tale. 
[30. Describe the meter.] 

"The Pardonekes Tale " 

[31. Read the Prologue of "The Pardoneres Tale," with the 
"Words of the Host" preceding it. Explain the character of the 
pardoner. Is the frankness with which he "gives himself away" in 
his prologue (see lines 318-326) consistent with his hypocrisy ? 

32. Report: The pardoners — history of indulgences; status and 
character of pardoners at this time. 

33. Report : The condition of the Roman Catholic Church before 
the Reformation. 

Summaries of this broad theme are given in mediaeval histories, such 
as Myers's, and in English histories, such as Green's. Give due credit 
when you present borrowed opinions. 

34. How well is the tale adapted to the occupation and character 
of the pardoner : (a) m choice of plot ; (b) in sermonizing introduced ; 
(c) in choice of text ; (d) in style of different parts ; (e) in earnest- 
ness and ensuing anger, at the end ? 

35. What was the ultimate source of the story ? Account for the 
similarity of plot between this tale and Kipling's " The King's Anchus." 1 

36. What gift of Chaucer, which doubtless you have already recog- 
nized, is wonderfully exhibited in this tale ? Explain by references.] 

"The Clerkes Tale" 

37. Read the description of the clerk in " The Prologue." 
Why do you suppose Chaucer chose this tale to put into his 
mouth ? Do you see, as in the case of at least one other 
tale we have read, signs that the clerk's tale was written 
purposely for him ? 

38. Chaucer makes the clerk say that he heard Petrarch 
tell this story. Some critics think this proves that Chaucer 

1 The Second Jungle Book. 



CHAUCER 27 

himself, when in Italy, met Petrarch. Do you think the 
argument convincing ? Suggest other arguments on either 
side. 

[39. Find out whatever you can as to the difference between Chau- 
cer's version of the tale and the earlier version by Petrarch. Where 
did Petrarch get the story ? 

See introduction to Clarendon Press edition.] 

40. What adjective is commonly associated with the name 
Griselda ? 

41. What do you think of Griselda ? Is she a lifelike 
woman? Was she only doing her duty, or was she over- 
doing it? How does Chaucer make her long-suffering seem 
more probable ? Did he mean to hold her up as an example 
to other wives ? 

The last question is answered by a few lines toward the end. 

[42. Does this story differ, and if so how, from "The Pardoneres 
Tale," and any other tales you feel confident were written especially 
for The Canterbury Tales, in any of the following respects : (a) con- 
densation; (6) vividness ; (c) character drawing ; (d) humor? What 
conclusion do you draw as to the date of composition ?] 

43. Learn what you can from histories or descriptive 
works of the classes of society typified by the knight, the 
clerk, the franklin, the friar, the shipman, etc. 

"The Pkologtje" 

44. Classify the pilgrims according to the ranks of so- 
ciety to which they belong. How completely do they stand 
for the people of England in the fourteenth century ? What 
do you suppose to have been Chaucer's purpose in choosing 
them as he did ? 

45. What general conclusions could we draw from these 
character sketches alone as to the state of the Church in 
that age ? as to the condition of merchants ? of learned 



28 STUDY BOOK m ENGLISH LITERATURE 

men ? of the aristocracy ? of the common people ? of inn- 
keepers ? 

You can judge something from relative numbers, from demeanor to 
members of other classes, from the way each is treated by the others, and 
from wealth, as well as from details formally given. 

46. In what spirit do the pilgrims travel ? 

See Prologues, " Head-links," and " Words of the Host." 

47. What different types of character do they include ? 

48. What seems to be Chaucer's feeling toward his 
characters? Is it severity; cynicism; ridicule; blame; 
indulgence ? 

49. Draw what conclusions you can as to dress in Chau- 
cer's time : variety, color, difference according to rank and 
occupation, etc. 

[50. What methods of description and characterization does Chaucer 
use here ? He represents himself, remember, as one of the company. 
Does he include in his descriptions any detail that he could not 
have learned in the course of the journey ?] 

The Tales taken Together 

[51. Classify the tales read, according to kind of story. Do they 
belong to kinds common then ? 

52. From the differences between the tales, what inferences can we 
draw as to Chaucer's power ?] 

Get, if possible, for your notebook, a good reproduction 
of the portrait of Chaucer preserved by Occleve. There is 
a colored reproduction in Garnett and Gosse, vol. i, oppo- 
site p. 140. Consult also Portrait Index. (See p. 5.) With 
the help of this index, you can often find good portraits in 
old magazines. 

" Every student should recognize as readily the portraits of John 
Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer, Sir Walter Scott, and the other luminaries 
of English Literature, and entertain as vivid and distinct an idea of 



CHAUCER 29 

them as living authors, toiling and impassioned, fortified in their 
prejudices and peculiarities, with their customs, manners, and habits, 
as of the foremost writer of his own age and nation." 1 

The Personality of Chaucer 

53. The two following descriptions of the same portrait 
of Chancer suggest very different inferences as to his char- 
acter. Study some reproduction of this portrait, and decide 
for yourself what kind of man seems to you to be depicted 
there. Then remember what conception of Chaucer's char- 
acter you drew from his writings and the facts of his life. 
Does your conception agree with either of the descriptions 
quoted ? 

(«) " The portrait of Chaucer, which we owe to the loving regret of 
his disciple Occleve, confirms the judgment of him which we make 
from his works. It is, I think, more engaging than that of any other 
poet. The downcast eyes, half sly, half meditative, the sensuous mouthy 
the broad brow, drooping with weight of thought, and yet with an in- 
expugnable youth shining out of it as from the morning forehead of a 
boy, are all noticeable, and not less so their harmony of placid tender- 
ness. We are struck, too, with the smoothness of the face as of one 
who thought easily, whose phrase flowed naturally, and who had never 
puckered his brow over an unmanageable verse." 2 

(6) " The face is wise and tender, full of a sweet and kindly sad- 
ness at first sight, but with much bonhomie in it on a further look, and 
with deep-set, far-looking gray eyes. Not the face of a very old man, 
a totterer, but of one with work in him yet, looking kindly, though 
seriously, out on the world before him. Unluckily the parted gray 
mustache and the vermilion above and below the lips render it diffi- 
cult to catch the expression of the mouth ; but the lips seem parted, 
as if to speak. Two tufts of white beard are on the chin ; and a fringe 
of white hair shows from under the black hood. One feels one would 
like to go to such a man when one was in trouble, and hear his wise 
and gentle speech." 3 

1 M. G. Phillips, Popular Manual of English Literature.. 

2 Lowell, Chaucer. 3 Furnivall, quoted in Pollard, Chaucer* 



30 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

54. In several of Chaucer's poems there are passages 
which, in jest or earnest, give descriptions of the author. 
They have been variously interpreted by the critics. After 
the first passage given below there are quoted two inter- 
pretations of it. Read both interpretations, and draw your 
own conclusions about Chaucer's actual appearance and 
traits of character. In drawing inferences from Chaucer's 
own words, bear in mind that he wrote primarily for a small 
circle of people who knew him so well that they would 
understand any humorous exaggeration or misstatement. 
How accurately do you refer to yourself before your com- 
rades or in your family ? 

(a) " Til that our hoste japen tlio bigan, 
And than at erst he loked up-on me, 
And seyde thus, ' What man artow ? ' quod he ; 
Thou lokest as thou woldest finde an hare, 
For ever up-on the ground I see thee stare. 

44 Approche neer, and loke up merily. 
Now ware you, sirs, and lat this man have place ; 
He in the waast is shape as wel as I ; 
This were a popet 1 in an arm t' embrace 
For any womman, smal and fair of face. 
He semeth elvish 2 by his contenaunce, 
For un-to no wight dooth he daliaunce. 

Sey now somwhat, sin other folk han sayd ; 
Tel us a tale of mirthe, and that anoon 3 '." 4 

Of this passage Skeat says : 

4 'In his prologue to 4 Sir Thopas,' he describes himself as a 4 large,' 
i.e., a somewhat corpulent man, and no ' poppet' to embrace, that is, 

1 Popet, i.e., doll. 

2 Elvish, i.e., so shy or distracted that he seems a being from another 
realm of existence. 

8 Anoon, i.e., at once. 

4 Prologue of " Sir Thopas." The Prioress has just finished her 
pathetic tale. 



CHAUCER 31 

not slender in the waist ; as having an ' elvish ' or abstracted look, 
often staring on the ground ' as if he would find a hare,' and 'doing 
no dalliance ' to any man, i.e., not entering briskly into casual con- 
versation." * 

Mr. Ward, on the other hand, thinks : 

u From this passage we may gather, not only that Chaucer 
was, as the Host of the Tabard's transparent self-irony implies, small 
of stature and slender, but that he was accustomed to be twitted on 
account of the abstracted or absent look which so often tempts children 
of the world to offer its wearer a penny for his thoughts. For ; elfish ' 
means bewitched by the elves, and hence vacant or absent in de- 
meanor." 2 
(6) " So whan I saw I might not slepe, 

Til now late, this other night, 

Upon my bedde I sat upright, 

And bad oon reche me a book, 

A romaunce, and he hit me took 

To rede and dryve the night away; 

For me thoghte it better play 

Then play en either at chesse or tabled." 3 

Is there other evidence than what is afforded by this and the following 
passages that Chaucer was fond of reading ? 

(c) " For whan thy labour doon al is, 

And hast y-maad thy rekeninges, 
In stede of reste and newe thinges, 
Thou gost hoom to thy hous anoon ; 
And, also domb as any stoon, 
Thou sittest at another boke, 
Til fully das wed is thy loke, 
And livest thus as an hermyte, 
Although thyn abstinence is lyte. 4 " 5 

(d) " And as for me, thogh that I can 6 but lyte,± 

On bokes for to rede I me delyte, 

1 Introduction to The Student's Chaucer. 

2 English Men of Letters, p. 145. 

3 The Book of the Duchesse, lines 44-51. * Lyte, i.e., little. 
5 The Hous of Fame, lines 652-660. 6 Can, i.e., know. 



32 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

And to hem yeve 1 I f eyth and ful credence, 
And in myn herte have hem in reverence, 
So hertely, that ther is game noon 
That fro my bokes maketh me to goon, 
But hit be seldom, on the holyday ; 
Save, certeynly, whan that the month of May 
Is comen, and that I here the foules singe, 
And that the floures ginnen for to springe, 
Farwel my book and my devocioun ! " 2 

(e) " And seyde : l Frend, what is thy name ? 
Artow come hider to han fame ? ' 
1 Nay, for-sothe, frend I ' quod I ; 
' I cam noght hider, graunt mercy ! 
For no swich cause, by my heed ! 
Suffyceth me, as I were deed, 
That no wight have my name in honde. 
I woot 3 my-self best how I stonde ; 
For what I drye 4 or what I thinke, 
I wol my-selven al hit drinke, 
Certeyn, for the more part 
As ferforth as I can myn art.' " 5 

55. On the whole, does Chaucer's manner of talking about 
himself show him to have been a modest or a conceited man ? 

Chaucer and his Contemporaries 

[56. How do the tales of Chaucer differ from your preconception 
(see p. 18) of the literature of the fourteenth century. 

57. Reports : The principal literary contemporaries of Chaucer : 

Consult the literary histories and the Dictionary of National Biog- 
raphy. 

(a) Langland. 

See Jusserand, Piers Ploughman. 

(b) Wyclif. 

(c) Gower. 

1 Yeve, i.e., give. 2 The Legend of Good Women, lines 29-39. 

3 Woot, i.e., know. 4 Brye, i.e., suffer, 

s The Hous of Fame, lines 1872-1882. 



CHAUCER 33 

Each report should bring out the character and work of the author, 
his relation to his age, and any relation, personal or literary, which he 
may bear to Chaucer. 

58. What light does this study of his contemporaries throw upon 
Chaucer ? Are there elements of his age which are not represented in 
his work? How does his attitude toward certain tendencies of his 
time differ from that of any of these other writers ? What contrast of 
temperament is thus made clear ? Do you think less, or more, or 
differently, of Chaucer for having compared him with these contem- 
poraries ? 

59. What influence had the work of Chaucer upon 

(a) The English language ; 

(&) His readers ; 

(c) Other writers of the time ?] 

To the Teacher. — There follow references to criticisms of Chaucer the 
man, some well founded, others partly or wholly misleading. They may 
be read at the teacher's discretion, the class being asked to explain, prove, 
qualify, or overthrow the different statements, as the case may require. 

(1) Moody and Lovett, p. 51, beginning, "The peasant rebellion — " 

(2) Smith, M. W. : Studies in English Literature. Cincinnati: Van 
Antwerp. P. 39, beginning, " Being in full sympathy — " 

(3) Garnett and Gosse, vol. i, p. 141, beginning, "Like Shakespeare — " 

(4) Lowell : Works, vol. iii, p. 293, beginning, " Here was a healthy and 
hearty man — " 

(5) Garnett and Gosse, vol. i, p. 142, beginning, "As an observer — " 

(6) Emery, F. P. : Notes on English Literature. Boston : Ginn. 1891. 
P. 14, beginning, " A reserved — " 

(7) Spenser, E. : The Faerie Queene, bk. iv, canto ii, st. 32. lines 7, 8. 

(8) Lowell, Works, vol. iii, p. 393, beginning, "One of those rare au- 
thors — " and beginning, "The pupil — " 

(9) Ward's English Poets, vol. i; pp. 5, 6, beginning, "The spirit of 
the—" 

Essay Subjects 

To the Teacher. — Attention should be centered, not on technique, but 
on subject-matter. Variety of theme will help give the students the sense 
that each paper should contribute to the knowledge and interest of the 
class. Help may well be given before and during the preparation of the 
essay. For instance, if any student finds difficulty in choosing a subject 



34 ' sfeDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

or in getting to work, the teacher may open up to him some subject by 
questions, references, or hints, so that it may seem not only possible but 
delightful to study it out. Moreover, problems relating to choice and 
arrangement of matter, proportion, point of view, etc., come up during 
the actual process of composition ; and the suggestions of the teacher in 
regard to these things should stimulate to eager, concentrated work. An 
outline might well be submitted, criticised, and revised before the paper 
is written ; but such an outline should be returned without delay, so as 
not to allow the student's ideas to cool. Rewriting is helpful at this stage, 
unless it is a mere perfunctory exercise. It should be remembered that, 
even with the best of intentions, the student is not always able to get up 
enough warmth of enthusiasm to make his essay malleable a second time. 
It is well to read aloud all essays from which the class may get enjoyment 
and information, but no others. Interest and clear understanding by the 
class may well, at this stage, form the touchstone for criticism. 

" The labor of composition begins when you have to put your separate 
threads of thought into a loom ; to weave them into a continuous whole ; 
to connect, to introduce them; to blow them out or expand them; to 
carry them to a close." — De Quincey: Style. 

If you wish the other students to understand and enjoy 
your paper, you will need to be very careful in arranging 
your material, and in making it clear at every step just what 
part of the subject you are discussing. Sometimes it is 
wise to tell at the beginning what points you mean to take 
up and in what order. It often helps to fix your points in 
the reader's mind to sum them up at the end. Another 
useful plan is to remind the reader, when you are just turn- 
ing from one subject to another, what you have been talking 
about, and then to announce the next topic. Useful turns 
of expression for such transitions are: "not only . . . but 
also"; "we have seen (or discussed, or investigated, etc.), 
... we shall now — " When so formal a transition does not 
seem necessary, such conjunctions as these may be useful: 
again, however, moreover, accordingly, then, thus, neverthe- 
less. Sometimes simply putting the new topic in a promi- 
nent position in the first sentence of the new paragraph is 



CHAUCER * 35 

sufficient. In any standard essays, preeminently in those of 
Matthew Arnold, Newman, and Pater, skilful ways of join- 
ing the parts of the composition may be observed. 

I. Expository 

1. The personal appearance of Chaucer. 

See pp. 29-31. Before beginning to write, decide what main topics you 
mean to discuss, i.e., height, coloring, dress, bearing, expression, etc., and 
in what order it is best to arrange them. 

2. Chaucer's preparation for his work as an interpreter 
of his age. 

See p. 22. What would be the natural order? 

3. The boyhood of Chaucer. 

After carefully gleaning from the biographies and histories all the facts 
you can about the boy and his environment, use your constructive imagi- 
nation. Be careful to make it plain what you know, and what you 
only infer or imagine. 

4. Chaucer's career as a public official. 

First make a list, in order of time, of all the public appointments held 
by Chaucer, with the duties pertaining to them, and the amount of pay 
when you can learn what it was. Then see what conclusions you can 
draw as to the number, variety, and importance of Chaucer's offices. 
Next decide what these facts and inferences prove about Chaucer's quali- 
fications as an official. Then plan, and finally write, your essay. 

5. The preparation of Chaucer for the writing of stories. 

What prepared him to describe men and women, nature, country life, 
the court ? Whence came his love for books, for outdoors, for men of 
all sorts ? There would be at least two good ways of arranging your 
material. Choose your order with your eyes open, and be prepared to 
defend it. 

6. Chaucer's feeling for nature. 

See "The Knightes Tale," lines T. 1034-1069, 1491-1518; Prologue to 
The Legend of Good Women ; "The Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales, 
lines 1-17; The Parlement of Foules, lines 171-210; 295-308; "The 



36 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Squieres Tale," lines 385-400. If you compare Chaucer's feeling with 
that of Wordsworth or Lowell, you will think of general remarks you 
can make. The comparison need not necessarily be referred to in the 
essay. Finish one part of the discussion before you go on to the next. 
When you have a subject about nature, you need to use special precau- 
tions against being flowery or sentimental. 

7. Chaucer as a student. 

The histories of literature will tell you what books were open to 
Chancer. The biographies will tell you about his education and reading. 
See also Lounsbury: "Learning of Chaucer," in Studies in Chaucer, 
vol. ii. The poems, aided by your common sense, will give you data from 
which you can infer Chaucer's habits in regard to reading. See also ex- 
tracts, pp. 31-32. It will require some ingenuity to arrange this material 
so that the class may understand and enjoy your paper. 

8. Comparison, of modes of travel in the fourteenth and 
in the twentieth centuries. 

See Jusserand, ch. ii. 

[9. The classes of society in the fourteenth century, as typified by 
Chaucer's pilgrims. 

Begin by grouping in their respective classes the pilgrims described in 
the "Prologue." Draw what conclusions you can about the social classes : 
their number, nature, condition, and relations with one another.] 

10. The condition and character of the common people in 
the time of Chaucer. 

Draw your illustrations from Chaucer. See "The Prologue," " The 
Nonne Preestes Tale," and prologues to separate tales. How many com- 
mon people does Chaucer introduce, in proportion to the number of persons 
of higher rank ? How do his common people behave to their superiors in 
rank? How do the latter treat them? Langland's Piers Plowman (see 
summary in Moody and Lovett) will give you further information, as will 
the histories. 

11. Chaucer's opinions on rank. 

See "The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe," lines 252 if . ; Gentilesse ; "The 
Squieres Tale," lines 479-483. Was Chaucer a democrat? or do you agree 
with the man who wrote this sentence : "Chaucer, like Shakespeare, beheld 
the lower classes with genial condescension, but preferred the higher 



CHAUCER 37 

classes"? (See p. 33.) Note especially any difference in Chaucer's way 
of speaking about people of higher and lower rank. 

12. The breadth of Chaucer's sympathy. 

How many types of character has he proved himself able to understand ? 
What types can you think of that he has not described ? Generalize on 
the basis of your answers to these questions. Discuss your inferences one 
by one, and consider what is the best order in which to present them. 

13. Human nature in the fourteenth and in the twentieth 

centuries. 

Draw comparisons in respect to happiness — degree and sources, con- 
science (its wakefulness and nature of ideas about right and wrong), 
emotions, beliefs, prejudices, manners, superstitions, degree of education, 
treatment of women. Choose some of these topics or others, and take 
pains in arranging your material. 

14. Women as Chaucer saw them. 

See descriptions of the prioress and the wife of Bath in " The Prologue " 
and in their respective prologues and tales ; other women in the tales read : 
"The Seconde Nonnes Tale"; The Legend of Good Women; "The 
Somnours Tale," lines T. 2001-2004 ; "The Merchant's Prologue," lines 1-5 ; 
Troilus and Criseyde, bk. v, st. 254. 

15. Comparison of the women of the fourteenth century 

with those of to-day, in position, or character, or both. 

If you take both, keep them separate, and connect clearly the two parts 
of your paper. 

[16. The different religious orders of the fourteenth century as 
represented in The Canterbury Tales. 

Group, generalize, and differentiate. See Jusserand and Cutts. 

17. The condition of the Eoman Catholic Church in the time of 
Chaucer. 

See Emerton, Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages. Boston: 
Ginn. Pp. 137 ff. See also St. Francis' charge to his friars, in his Writings, 
translated by P. Robinson. Philadelphia : The Dolphin Press. 1906. Pp. 
32 ff. These passages will give you some notion of the early ideals of the 
Roman Catholic Church. In Chaucer, besides what you have already 
read, take into account " The Freres Tale," " The Somnours Tale," " The 
Chanouns Yemannes Tale," with their prologues. Do not let your account 
be one-sided ; take into consideration all Chaucer's ecclesiastics.] 



88 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

. 18. The humor of Chaucer. 

You can write an amusing paper on this subject, for there are many 
funny things in Chaucer that you can use to illustrate your points. Do 
not be satisfied with proving, what we all know already, that Chaucer had 
humor; show what kind of humor his is; e.g., is it unkind; spasmodic; 
sarcastic; bitter? How does it differ from the humor of Mark Twain, 
Swift, and others? 

19. The versatility of Chaucer. 

Be sure you know exactly what versatility means. It may help you 
to think of material if you consider Chaucer's different occupations, kinds 
of writing, subjects, characters, moods, styles. 

[20. Chaucer's methods of describing people. 

Observe, for instance, how he describes his pilgrims in " The Prologue." 
He shows us looks, dress, — what else? Use examples freely. Beware of 
drawing conclusions after too little reading. Study the descriptions in 
the tales you have read, and in other tales, e.g., in " The Knightes Tale." 

21. If Chaucer had lived in an age when there was a great English 
drama, would he have been a dramatist ? 

What powers does a dramatist need? Did Chaucer have them? If so, 
would he have applied them to dramas ? Explain fully and systematically.] 

II. Fiction 

According to Chaucer's plan, each of the pilgrims was to 
have told two tales going to Canterbury, and two more on 
the way home. Write one of the tales Chaucer left untold ; 
e.g., another for the prioress, the squire, the knight, the par- 
doner, etc. Or, without definite teller in mind, take as basis 
a mediaeval tale that may have been familiar to Chaucer, 
and write a tale along the lines of his. Follow, as Spenser 
was proud to clo, " the footing of [Chaucer's] feet." x Do not 
try to copy the old English ; but you may imitate, if you 
like, one of Chaucer's meters. Suggestions as to plot 
follow : 

1 The Faerie Queene, bk. iv, canto ii, st. 34. 



CHAUCER 39 

22. Another fable: e.g., the fox and the stork, or the 
man, the boy, and the donkey. 

See the fables of iEsop or of La Fontaine. 

23. A tale of chivalry, using Chaucer's methods. 

See Bulfinch, T. : Age of Chivalry. Revised by E. E. Hale. Boston: 
Tilton & Co. ; Lanier, S. : The Boy's Mabinogion. Scribner. 1881. 

24. A tale from the Arabian Nights: e.g., the Forty 
Thieves, or Sindbad the Sailor. 

25. The story of Thomas a Becket. 

As the pilgrims were on the way to Canterbury, this story would have 
a special appropriateness. 

26. Friar Bacon and the brass head. 
See Brewer : Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. ' 

27. The legend of a saint. 

See Baring-Gould, S.: The Lives of the Saints. London: Nimmo. New 
edition. 1897. Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn has several stories 
which might be adapted to the purpose. 

28. Some other mediaeval legend. 

See Baring-Gould, S.: Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. London: 
Rivingtons. 1868. Longfellow, H. W. : The Golden Legend (translation) . 
Boston: Houghton, 1887, Riverside Literature Series; or Leaves from 
the Golden Legend. Chosen by H. D. Madge. New York : Dutton. 1899. 

29. Write for one of the pilgrims, perhaps the prioress 
or the poor parson, the tale suggested below : 

"Might not Hazlitt, the legend kindled for him by Italian painters, 
have wished that Chaucer had set hand to the story of St. Christopher, 
that story that now shines for us so vaguely and dimly in the strange, 
sober volumes of Caxton's Golden Legend?" 1 

For editions of The Golden Legend, see above. 

; 80. Write the prologue for a similar set of tales to be 

told to-day. Gather together, on a plausible pretext, a 

1 Atlantic Monthly. 



40 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

group of people representative of the different classes of 
society in our day. They might, for instance, be going to 
one of the great expositions. Describe each in as clear and 
entertaining a way as Chaucer has described his pilgrims. 

31. Describe an imaginary interview with Chaucer, per- 
haps at court, perhaps at his office, or outdoors. 

Write a fictitious story based on some fact in Chaucer's 
life; e.g. : 

32. How he became page to Prince Lionel's wife. 

33. How he became popular at court. 

34. His courtship of Philippa. 

35. An incident that gave him the basis for some one of 
his tales. 

36. His friendship with Gower. 

Look up Gower in the histories of literature and in the Dictionary of 
National Biography. Then use your imagination. 



CHAPTER III 

THE MIRACLE PLAYS 

" A theme of living interest to large bodies of men." 

— Garnett and Gosse : Pictorial History of English Literature. 

Bibliography 
I. Collections of Plays 

Pollard, A. W. : English Miracle Plays, Moralities, and Inter- 
ludes. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1895. 

Manly, J. M. : Specimens of Pre- Shakespearian Drama. 2 vols. 
Boston: Ginn. 1897. 

Morley, H., editor: English Plays. Volume iii of C 'as selVs Library 
of English Literature. London, Paris, and New York: Cassell. 

Gayley, C. M. : The Star of Bethlehem. Reconstructed from 
Towneley and other old English cycles. Composed for Ben Greet. 
New York : Fox, Duffield, and Co. 1904. 

This is a skilful combination of old plays, changed just enough to 
avoid obscurity and the shocking of modern taste. Students should 
by all means see, if possible, this or some other old play, such as 
Everyman, performed under the mediseval conditions. An attempt 
at such a production by the class would be of the greatest benefit. 

Deimling, H., editor : The Chester Plays. London : Kegan Paul. 
Early English Text Society. 1893. 

Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. : Ludus Coventrice. London : Shake- 
speare Society. 1841. 

England, G., and Pollard, A. W., editors: The Towneley Plays. 
London : Kegan Paul. Early English Text Society. 1897. 

Smith, L. T., editor: York Plays. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 

41 



42 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



II. Literary History and Criticism 

Bates, K. L. : English Beligious Drama. New York : Macmillan. 
1893. 

Best detailed account for younger students. 

Chambers, E. K. : The 3Iediceval Stage. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 
1903. 2 vols. Vol. ii, ch. xviii-xxiii. 
Detailed, authoritative. 

Courthope, W. J. : History of English Poetry. Vol. i, ch. x. 

Garnett and Gosse. Vol. i, pp. 220-237. 
Excellent very brief account. 

Gayley, C. M. : Plays of our Forefathers. New York : Duffield. 
1907. Ch. i, ii, vi-viii, etc. 
Valuable illustrations. 

Jusserand, J. J. : Literary History of the English People. New 
York: Putnam. 1895, 1896. Vol. i, bk. iii, ch. vi. 

Morley, H. : English Writers. Vol. iii, pp. 103-299 ; vol. iv, pp. 
68-130. 

Pollard, A. W. : English Miracle Plays. Introduction, pp. xiii- 
xviii ; xxiii-xxv. 

Symonds, J. A. : Shakespeare'' s Predecessors in the English Drama. 
London : Smith and Elder. New edition. 1900. Ch. iii. 

Ten Brink, B. : History of English Literature. Vol. ii, bk. v, ch. 
ii-vi. 

Ward, A. W. : History of English Dramatic Literature. Revised 
edition. 3 vols. London : Macmillan. 1899. Vol. i, pp. 3, 6, 7, 
13-16 ; 26, 27 ; 29-45 ; 58-64. 

To the Teacher. — The study of the Miracle Plays, so rudimentary 
in themselves, is valuable for the students, first, because from these plays 
is to be traced the development of the Elizabethan drama; second, 
because this study gives some added light upon the men and women of 
whom and to whom Chaucer wrote; third, because it should tend to 
encourage a somewhat more critical attitude toward the plays the students 
themselves attend ; and, incidentally, because it affords an excellent oppor- 
tunity for training in the skilful use of reference books. Because in this 
field of study there would be unusual difficulty in finding facts, detailed 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 43 

references are provided in connection with particular topics. More 
mature classes should be encouraged to consult also other books men- 
tioned in the bibliography, which is purposely uncommonly large. Classes 
of immature students who have had few opportunities to see dramatic 
representations should omit this chapter. 

Reading 

Chester Plays: Noah's Flood, or Towneley Plays: Noah's 
Flood. 

The former is found in Pollard ; the latter in Manly, vol. i. 

Towneley Plays: Secunda Pastorum. 

Pound in Pollard ; Manly, vol. i ; Morley, H. : English Plays. 

Chester Plays : TJie /Sacrifice of Isaac. 
Pound in Pollard. 

[Everyman. 

Found in Pollard, pp. 77 ff. ; described in Wa^d, vol. i, pp. 121 ft*.; and 
in Symonds, pp. 135 ff. 

If this play is not available, Hicke-Scorner may be substituted. 

Found in Manly, vol. i, pp. 386 ff. ; Morley, H. : English Plays, pp. 12 ff. ; 
described in Pollard, p. iii; Symonds, pp. 133 f. ; Ward, vol. i, pp. 118 f. ; 
The Tudor Facsimile Texts. London : Jack. 1908.] 

The Miracle Plays 

To the Teacher. — In order to center the attention of the students upon 
the perfected form of the Miracle Plays, the cycles of plays as acted by 
the guilds in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries should be studied first, 
and to these should be devoted a considerable part of the time available 
for the chapter. Then the origin and early history of the drama can be 
studied with zeal and effectiveness ; and finally, the Morality Plays may 
receive brief consideration. Any teacher who prefers to follow the strict 
chronological order may take up topics 18-31 before topics 1-17. 

The first recitation may be devoted to an attempt to reproduce as fully 
and vividly as possible a Corpus Christi festival. The essence of the 
matter will be missed unless the class realize the life, color, fun, and 
joyousness of the old-time holiday. 

1. Find out all you can about the way in which Miracle 
Plays were presented at the Corpus Christi festivals during 



44 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

the Middle Ages. Collect facts about the topics that follow, 
from the references given, or from other works mentioned 
in the bibliography. 

a. The holiday of Corpus Christi; date, meaning, origin. 
Why was it chosen for the representation of Miracle Plays ? 
On what other holidays were cycles acted? 

See Bates : pp. 37 ff . ; Chambers : vol. ii, pp. 133 ff . ; Garnett and Gosse : 
vol. i, pp. 223 ff. ; Gayley: ch. vii, and illustrations throughout ; Pollard: 
pp. xxv ff*. ; Symonds : pp. 88 ff. ; Ward : vol. i, pp. 58 ff. 

b. Subjects of the plays. 

c. Where they were acted. 

d. The stage : name, parts, appointments. 

e. The actors. 

/. Make-up of characters ; e.g., Herod, Pilate, the devil, etc. 
g. Properties, such as the ark, etc. 

h. Details in regard to the presentation of the play, stage 
business, etc. 

To the Teacher. — During the second class period, the teacher may try 
to reproduce for the class some one Miracle Play. It is recommended that 
the choice fall on either the Chester Play of Noah's Flood or on the play 
of The Sacrifice of Isaac in the same cycle, — whichever is more likely 
to be enjoyed by the particular class. It should be remembered that the 
dialogue formed the least part of the general effect. After the previous 
recitation, the class will be able to aid in supplying the externals in 
general ; and the details of make-up, action, and stage business the teacher 
should describe as occasion arises. In preparation for the lesson the 
students should be asked to read the Bible story corresponding to the 
play selected. 

2. Read either 

a. Genesis vi-ix ; or 

b. Genesis xxii. 

3. In what ways does the play differ from the Bible 
story ? Try to account for the differences. 

To the Teacher. — Next, the reconstruction of a typical cycle of Miracle 
Plays may be attempted. The subjects on which plays were usually given 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 45 

may be assigned to individual students, or to groups of students. To get 
a survey of an entire cycle into one class period, it would probably be 
wise to assign beforehand time limits, not necessarily uniform, for the 
reports. It is important to keep before the class the underlying unity of 
the cycle, and the relation of each play to the whole. The students should 
be stimulated to vie with one another in making these reports brief and 
vivid. 

4. What was a cycle of Miracle Plays ? What range of 
subjects did the cycles usually cover ? What underlying 
purpose bound the parts into one whole ? What was the 
meaning of the term Mystery Plays, which was sometimes 
given, especially on the Continent, to these dramas ? 

5. Let each member of the class prepare to describe a 
typical Miracle Play on one of the themes given below, so 
that the reports taken together may give a connected idea 
of such a cycle as was acted by the guilds when the Miracle 
Plays were in their prime. Let each student read any 
plays on his subject which are accessible to him, and any 
descriptions of such plays. Out of the data thus gathered, 
with the facts previously learned about the plays, let him 
construct in his imagination and describe to the class a 
typical play upon his theme. It should be remembered 
that the words formed a small part of the spectacular effect. 
Describe setting, costumes, acting, business, as well as plot 
and dialogue. The four cycles of plays indicated in the 
bibliography, if accessible, will be helpful in every case. 
Special references are given for the different subjects. 

a. The creation, with the fall of the angels. 

York Plays described in Pollard, introduction, p. xxxi ; text, pp. 1 ff. ; 
Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 50 ff. 

b. Eden and the temptation. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp, 52 ff., 93 ff . ; Norwich Play, 
text in Manly, vol. i, pp. 1 ff. 

c. Cain and Abel. 



46 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 56 ff. ; several plays compared 
in Gay ley, pp. 149 f. 

d. Noah and the ark. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 65 f . ; text, in Manly, vol. i, pp. 
13 ff . ; Chester Play described in Bates, pp. 106 ff . ; text, in Pollard, pp. 8 ff. ; 
York Play described in Bates, pp. 98 f , ; several plays compared in Gayley, 
pp.l50ff. 

e. Abraham and Isaac. 

Chester Play described in Bates, pp. 66 f. ; text in Pollard, pp. 21 ff . ; 
York Play described in Bates, pp. 99 f. ; Brome Play, text, in Manly, vol. i, 
pp. 40 ff. 

f. Summary of other Old Testament plays. 
Gayley, pp. 119 f. ; Bates, pp. 67 f. 

g. The Annunciation. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 68 ff. 

h. The Nativity. 

Chester Play described in Bates, pp. 110 ff . ; York Play described in 
Bates, pp. 103 f . 

i. The shepherds. 

Towneley Play, Secunda Pastorum, described in Bates, pp. 70 ff . ; 
text in Pollard, pp. 31 ff. ; Manly, vol. i, pp. 94 ff. ; Coventry Play, text, in 
Manly, vol. i, pp. 127 ff. 

j. The Magi. 

Coventry Play, text in Manly, vol. i, p. 139 ff. 

k. Joseph's dream, and the flight into Egypt. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 75 f . ; York Play described in 
Bates, pp. 101 ff . ; Coventry Play, text, in Manly, vol. i, pp. 148 ff. 

I. The slaughter of the innocents. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, p. 76 ; Coventry Play, text, in Manly, 
vol. i, pp. 148 ff . 

m. Jesus in the temple. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 77 ff. 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 47 

n. Summary of other New Testament plays before the 
Passion. 

Pollard, pp. xxxii ff. ; Gay ley, pp. 120 ff. 

o. The trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. 

Towneley Plays described in Bates, pp. 83 ff. ; York Play described in 
Bates, pp. 90 ff. ; text, in Manly, vol. i, pp. 153 ff. 

p. The last judgment. 

Towneley Play described in Bates, pp. 86 f . ; York Play, text, in Manly, 
vol. i, pp. 198 ff. 

To the Teacher. — The three Miracle Plays assigned in the Reading, by 
this time somewhat familiar, may now be read out of class. Encourage 
students to think of the sounds represented by the combinations of letters, 
rather than of the look of the words, and to infer the meaning of doubtful 
words from the context. Let the plays be read with a view to answering 
the following questions : 

6. Why should the Miracle Plays form a good source of 
information about the national character in the age during 
which they were popular ? 

7. What qualities should you attribute to the people 
who produced and enjoyed the Miracle Plays ? What did 
they like ? How refined were they ? At what sort of 
things did they laugh? What was their attitude toward 
sacred things ? Did they have more or less imagination 
than the theater goers of to-day ? Were the poor content 
with their lot ? Were people, on the whole, happy or 
unhappy ? How do your conclusions confirm or modify 
the conceptions you formed during your study of the pre- 
ceding chapters ? 

8. Professor Garnett says : " It is easy to realize . . . 
how important an educational influence the performances 
must have been for the unlettered man." 1 Explain. 

1 Garnett and Gosse. 



48 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

9. How did the fact that the Miracle Plays were pro- 
duced by the guilds affect the character of the plays, and 
the manner of production ? How did it intensify their 
effect upon the people ? 

10. How is it that the Miracle Plays can be said to 
constitute a "national drama" 7 1 

11. Give illustrations of the humor of the Miracle Plays. 
With what characters is the humor associated ? 

12. Illustrate the pathos of some of these plays. In 
. what cycle is this quality most prominent ? 

13. What anachronisms do you find in the Miracle 
Plays? How do you account for these? 

14. Illustrate and account for the English local color. 

15. What place was taken in the Miracle Plays by such 
minor characters of the Bible narrative as Noah's wife, 
the shepherds, etc.? Why is it important to study these 
characters ? 

16. Who were the authors of these plays ? 

17. How many cycles of Miracle Plays have come down 
to us ? Name them, and give some account of each. Of 
what other cycles have we fragments ? What others 
existed, as is proved by contemporary references ? 

The Development of the Miracle Plays 

To the Teacher. — To distinguish the liturgical plays as marking a dis- 
tinct stage in the development of the drama, they should form the main 
topic of a recitation, questions relating to earlier times being made 
plainly subsidiary. 

When you have a mental picture of the Miracle Plays, you 
will wish to know how they grew up. Consult the refer- 
ence books for answers to the following questions : 
1 Garnett and Gosse. 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 49 

18. Why did the drama of the Greeks and Romans pass 
dway ? 

19. How were the classic traditions handed down, in 
some slight measure, by (a) plays written in the monas- 
teries ; (b) jugglers, and other secular performers ? 

20. In the early Middle Ages, what signs proved that 
people were eager for shows and entertainments ? How 
many forms of such amusement can you show to have 
been popular? 

21. Who reestablished the drama ? 

22. Why did the priests introduce acted Bible stories 
into the church service ? Could not the people hear the 
Bible in church, and read it for themselves, as people 
can now? 

23. What were some of the earliest additions to the 
church service ? 

24. Explain the decline of the Miracle Plays. When 
were they last acted in England? How long had they 
been popular ? 

25. To obtain a true, clear, and concrete conception of a 
movement covering so long a space of unfamiliar and ill- 
recorded time, the student should make a table of dates, as 
exact as possible, indicating the mile-stones in the history 
of the Miracle Plays. Such a table should include at least 
data referring to the following events : 

a. Establishment of the mass ; 

b. Beginning of the elaboration of the mass ; 

c. Composition of the first liturgical plays on the Conti- 
nent ; 

d. Introduction of Miracle Plays into England ; 

e. Banishment of plays from inside the church; 

/. Condemnation by the church of acting by the clergy ; 
g. Founding of the feast of Corpus Christi; 



50 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

h. Enjoining of strict observance of this feast ; 
i. Golden age of Miracle Plays as acted by the guilds ; 
j. Last production of a Miracle Play in England of which 
you can find mention. 

26. Describe any modern survivals you may have seen or 
heard of that may help us to reconstruct these dramas; e.g., 
scenes in certain Catholic churches, in this country or abroad, 
at Christmas or other holidays. 

27. Outline one of the following liturgical plays, de- 
scribing how it was presented: 

To the Teacher. — The plays should be assigned to different students, 
or groups of students. 

a. Depositio Crucis; 

See Gay ley, pp. 15 f.; Chambers, vol. ii, pp. 16 f . ; 21 ff. 

b. Quern Quceritis; 

See Gayley, p. 17 ; Chambers, vol. ii, pp. 9 f . ; Manly, vol. i, pp. 
xixff. 

c. The Magi; 

See Chambers, vol. ii, pp. 44 ff. 

d. The Raising of Lazarus. 

See Ward, vol. i, pp. 38 f. 

On the liturgical plays in general, see, among the references of the 
bibliography, especially the following : Gayley, ch. i and ii ; Chambers, 
vol. ii, ch. xviii; Pollard, pp. xiii-xvii. 

[28. Trace the development of the liturgical dramas in (a) com- 
plexity of plot ; (b) number of characters ; (c) amount of action ; 
(d) realism of representation ; (e) language.] 

29. Why was the acting of Miracle Plays in churches 
finally forbidden ? 

30. How did the institution of the festival of Corpus 
Christi promote the development of the Miracle Play? 

31. What circumstances stimulated the guilds to make 
their performances as good as possible ? 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 51 

The Morality Plays 

32. How did the Morality Play grow out of the Miracle 
Play ? How did it differ from the earlier kind of play ? 

[Does the Morality Play indicate progress or retrogression in the 
development of the drama ?] 

33. Outline the plot of one of the following dramas : 

To the Teacher. — These plays may be assigned to different students. 
Younger students may read descriptions only. 

a. Everyman; 

Described Ward, vol. i, pp. 121 ff. ; Symonds, pp. 168 ff. [For text see 
p. 43.] 

b. The Castell of Perseverance ; 

Described in Ward, vol. i, pp. 113 f.; Pollard, pp. xlv ff. [For text, 
see Pollard, pp. G4ff. ; The Macro Flays. Edited by F. J. Furnival and 
A. W. Pollard. Kegan Paul. 1904. pp. 75 ff.] 

c. The World and the Child; 

Described in Symonds, pp. 123 ff. ; [text, Manly, vol. i, pp. 353 ff . The 

Tudor Facsimile Texts, London : Jack. 1909.] 

/. Hicke-S corner ; 

Described in Ward, vol. i, pp. 118 f . ; Symonds, pp. 133 f. ; Pollard, 
p. liii. [For text, see p. 43.] 

g. Lusty Juventus. 

Described in Symonds, p. 127 ff.; [text, The Tudor Facsimile Texts (as 
above).] 

34. Describe the appearance, actions, and office in the 
play, of some of the chief allegorical figures of the Morality 
Plays ; e.g., the devil, the vice, etc. 

35. When, where, and by whom were Morality Plays first 
acted ? 

36. What is meant by the term Interlude f Is there 
an essential difference between this and the Morality Play ? 
If so, explain this difference. 

[37. How did the Miracle Play prepare for the regular drama ? 
Was the service it performed, as Professor Garnett thinks, only the 



52 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

indirect one of preparing an audience eager for dramatic representa- 
tions ; * or did it exhibit the germs of the later legitimate drama ? 2 

38. Why should Professor Garnett say that the religious drama was 
" incapable of development " ? 3 Do you agree with him ?] 

39. Are the Miracle Plays " literature " ? 

Essay Subjects 

To the Teacher. —Immature students, except in individual cases, 
should take the imaginative subjects. Variety should be assured by 
choice of different places, plays, spectators, and circumstances. The 
student should be stimulated to call up in his own mind and to convey to 
his classmates the actual scene, with its background, figures, colors, 
smells, etc., and to adopt the point of view of whomever he impersonates. 
After each paper is read, the teacher might ask such questions as these : 
" Should you like to have been there ?" " Would the little boy, or the 
actor, have seen this, or felt so and so? " The expository essays should 
be clear, orderly, simple, and interesting; and the effectiveness of each 
may be tested by the degree of interest and comprehension produced in 
the students hearing it. It may be necessary to make a stand against 
unacknowledged or undue indebtedness. Some students really do not 
comprehend the nature and heinousness of plagiarism. They need to 
be told plainly that borrowing ideas and phrases is of the same nature as 
copying paragraphs and sentences ; and that, on the other hand, it is per- 
missible to retell a story in a new form, with acknowledgment of its source. 

1. A description of one of the more elaborate liturgical 

plays, as seen by a definitely conceived spectator in some 

particular cathedral. 

Get plans and pictures of the cathedral. Choose some definite point of 
view. Write in the first person. For some details, see Bates, pp. 8ff. ; 
Symonds, pp. 119 ff. For the plays see references on p. 50. 

2. A personal account of a Corpus Christi festival. Make 
it the letter, diary, or oral account of some clearly imagined 
spectator; e.g., 

a. A little boy who has seen for the first time the 
Coventry Plays, and who afterward describes the 
experience to his playmates, or to his grandmother ; 
i Garnett and Gosse. 2 Ward. 3 Garnett and Gosse. 



THE MIRACLE PLAYS 53 

b. A member of a guild that has produced a play, 
to a member of a similar guild in another town. 

c. A shepherd from a remote country district, to his 
friends at home. 

d. A young actor, who gives an account of prepara- 
tions, incidents, success, from the inside point of 
view. 

3. The Passion Play at Oberammergau : 

a. The history. 

b. An account of it by a spectator. 

c. An explanation of the manner of production. 

[4. History of the relation of the Roman Catholic church to the 
drama before the Reformation. 

Two phases are suggested by the following: " Thus was the drama 
restored by the very institution which had taken it away." 1 

5. The rise of the liturgical drama. 

Mark definite steps of development. For references, see p. 49. 

6. How the fact that they were performed by the guilds influenced 
the character of the Miracle Plays. 

7. The people who enjoyed the Miracle Plays. 

8. The following passage should suggest several subjects : 

"In the Miracle Plays of our forefathers the mirth, the proverbial 
philosophy, the social aims, the aesthetic and religious ideals of the 
middle ages, still live for us." 2 

9. Miracle Plays as the " biblia pauperum." 

10. Supernatural beings of the Miracle Plays. 

11. Comparison between a definite Miracle Play and the Biblical 
original, with reasons for the differences you discover. 

12. The devil of the Miracle Plays. 

13. The chief non-Biblical sources of the materials of the Miracle 
Plays. 

14. The Miracle Plays as a religious influence. 

1 Garnett and Gosse. 2 Gay ley. 



54 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

15. The authorship of the Miracle Plays. 

16. A cycle of plays considered as a dramatic whole. 
Choose the Chester or the Towneley cycle. 

17. Rudiments of dramatic skill shown in the Miracle Plays. 

18. Truth to human life in the Miracle Plays. 

19. English local color in the Miracle Plays. 

20. Characterization in the Miracle Plays. 

21. The realism of the Miracle Plays. 

22. The humor of the Miracle Plays. 

23. The Miracle Plays considered as preparatory to the regular 
drama. 

24. Judge the Puritan attitude toward the modern stage in the 
light of the origin of the English drama.] 



CHAPTER IV 

THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY: BIBLIOGRAPHY 
FORMATIVE INFLUENCES 

" To know a period aright we must know its outward body and its 
inward spirit ; we must study it in its actions, its passions, and its thought. 
What were its great achievements in the material world and its daily 
habits of social life ? What were its dominant emotions ? what were its 
guiding ideas? And finally, is there any common element or principle 
which manifests itself alike in ideas, emotions, and action?" 

— Dowden: The Teaching of English Literature, 

Bibliography 

I. History 

Hales, J. W. : Introduction to vol. ii of The Age of Transition, by 
F. J. Snell. London : Bell. 1905. 

A good account of the tendencies of the fifteenth century. 

Creighton, M. : Age of Elizabeth. London : Longmans. 1876. 
Epochs of Modern History. 

Busch, W. : England under the Tudors. London : Innes. Translated 
by A. H. Johnson and A. M. Todd. Introduction by J. Gairdner. 
Vol. iii. 

Powers, G. W. : England and the Reformation. New York : 
Scribner. 1898. Oxford Manuals of English History. 

II. Elizabethan England 

Thornbury, G. W. : Shakespeare'' s England. 2 vols. London : 
Longmans. 1856. 

Harrison, W., edited by F. J. Eurnivall : Elizabethan England. 
London : J. R. Smith. 1877. 

Eroin Holinshed. Contains Norden's map of London in 1593. This 
map is also found in Pancoast's English Literature, opposite p. 112. 

55 



56 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

III. Discovery and Adventure 

Hakluyt, R. : The Principall Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and 
Discoveries of the English Nation, etc. London : George Bishop and 
Ralph Newberie. 1589. 

If this old edition is accessible, you will find it interesting to read 
the voyages in the form in which the Elizabethans saw them. If not, 
the work is published in Arber's English Gamer. London : Macmillan. 
Interesting chapters are the " Eight about the Azores" (also found in 
The Heart of Oak Books. Edited by C. E. Norton. Boston : Heath. 
1895-1904. Vol. vi, p. 88) and the ''Discovery of Muscovy." 

A new edition of Hakluyt, with maps, portraits, and facsimiles, is 
ready. 12 vols. Glasgow: MacLehose. 1903-1905. 

Burney, Captain James : A Chronological History of the Discov- 
eries in the South Sea. 5 vols. London : G. and W. Nichol. 1803- 
1817. 

Prescott, W. H. : Conquest of Mexico. Works, vols, iii and iv. 
London : Gibbings and Co. 1896. Conquest of Peru. Vols, v and 
vi (as above). 

IV. Collections 

Craik, H. : English Prose Selections. Vol. i, latter part. 

Arber's English Beprints. London : Macmillan. E.g., TotteVs 
Miscellany. 

Many Elizabethan works have been reprinted in this edition. 

Bull en, A. H., compiler : Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Eliza- 
bethan Age. London : Nimmo. 1889. 

Schelling, F. E. : A Book of Elizabethan Lyrics. Boston : Ginn. 
1 895. Athenceum Press Series. 

V. Literary History and Criticism 

Snell, F. J. : The Age of Transition. London : Bell. 1905. 2 vols. 
Treats the literature of the fifteenth century. 

Seccombe, T., and Allen, J. W. : The Age of Shakespeare. Lon- 
don : Bell. 1903. 2 vols. 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 57 

Jusserand, J. J. : The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare. 
Revised and enlarged. Translated by E. Lee. Illustrated. London : 
Unwin. 1890. 

Taine, H. A. : History of English Literature. Bk. ii, ch. i-iv. 

Whipple, E. P. : Literature of the Age of Elizabeth. Boston : 
Houghton. 

VI. Fiction" 

Clemens, S. (Mark . Twain) : TJie Prince and the Pauper. New- 
York : Harper. 

The prince is Edward VI. 

Manning, A. : The Household of Sir Thomas More. New York : 
Scribner. 1896. 

This purports to be the diary of one of Sir Thomas More's daugh- 
ters. It pictures vividly certain aspects of the time of Henry VIII. 

Landor, W. S. : Imaginary Conversations : " Henry VIII and Anne 
Boleyn"; "Roger Ascham and Lady Jane Grey"; " Queen Eliza- 
beth and Cecil " ; " Essex and Spenser " ; "Lord Bacon and Richard 
Hooker " ; " Lord Brooke and Sir Philip Sidney." 

Most of these conversations are in the Camelot edition. London : 
W. Scott. Or see Landor's Works. London : Chapman and Hall. 
1896. Vols, ii-vi. 

Kingsley, C. : Westward Ho ! New York : Macmillan. 

A vivid picture of the full, exciting life of the age. It includes 
voyages of discovery, adventures in tropic forests, fights with the 
Spanish treasure ships. 

Scott, Sir W. : Kenilworth. Many editions. 
Formative Influences 

To the Teacher. — No period affords a better opportunity than does the 
sixteenth century for the study of an age in its causes, its tendencies, and 
its self-expression in literature. The students should be helped to gain, 
first, a vivid picture of the life of the times ; second, a conception of how 
historical forces molded the age ; and third, as the one great end of all 
this study, an understanding of how the tendencies of the age in their turn 
influenced the literature. 



58 



STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



GO 



25 



o 



£.3 



aj 



* 1 


0<M 






£?«! 




-tJ o 

2 a 

A. 2 






s -° 

© *" 0> 

"53.2 a 


o 'c 3 


£ ca 


E 

03 


a^ 

*" .— 

a S 


2J « 

.25 o 


55 


H 


2 ° 
S 2 




v- 3 a 


= 3 




S =3 


O c3 


^►JO 


Hlh-3 




Q^ 


Otf 


«Ot-05 


tHCO 




tf5t- 


oco 




GO GO 




CO GO 


ggj 


woo 


iO iO 




oo 



.©.2 


2 




bc5 




s- -S 


Jesu 
s' tre 
Tren 
born 


1- 

T- o 


<h SVin 


a C 


°.2 ^ 
fc^'a 7 ? a 


*1 


ciet 
per 

rva 


©5 


o o o <o 


•SrO 


coQOQ 


QH 


OCOlCH- 


IO 


OOiCO 





£<© 



S3 


£ 


e3 c3 


T3 


-uOQ 


.2,0 
3 M 




.30 



S 58 





r 








03 




£ 


5* 


3^ 


| 


Ues. 


£| 


° & * 


00 


*S* 


5 


pq«^ 


Sfe^ 


^£^ 


^ + 


= C 53 


1 


CO 




o 




Oin ^ 




Tf 1C O 


25 



<S 



o 


03 


GO 


^ © © 


w 


g © 




t-3«J a 


- 


1-1 «w °S 


CO 


f ©^ 





£.5 £ 

£ E 03 




W © 



Ik 
si 
It 



2SN 



.2 o, ® 



ir o3 0; .^ -m 

£cu ,© § g j 
£ p § 5* 3 * * 

T3 >,Ch go O -J 

^^ g^ « a « 

MCQ g^^ 2^ « 



£^ 



«2° 

S ® 
^•2 



o hh «h : 



5 «>• c 



b°o^ 



-M - 






^•^^^ 



C ^ m © c3^> 

S « 2 S « S 

^^ M 1° 

I I a . §.^ 

S =2 .2 £ S £ 

1^1 sl" 



H^ pa 



' , •> >-i ^* >^ o <u 

•^ o ^ =3 « © 



^^ W 



t-OS CO Tt< o «o OS 

GO GO CO CO CO CO CO 



t- ci i— co ^* *c co 

r* t»< O >C iO iO iO 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 59 



fc ca i-. « « 

V > | - 1 ^ o3 

s 5 ^ ^ .s 






^ ©.a 



to ir •£ © 

£ ° 5 ^ .2 

°i° ll 

«© ti <m oh t^ 00 co 00 o 1© io«e 

Ot-t— CO 30 00 GO OS CiO © tHH 

i© lOO lOO 10 i© *© i© «© op 00 CD 







2? o ^ ^3 fc£-^ 

^ -2 3 5^ 

■s II -Pis* 






P.2 « 






,32 -2 2 ~ ^ 



5 £<j 



|g^tllb|a. ggjg ||j is? B |l l§ 

£ ,d_2^ S^ «« ft e3 ^ 3 © © K 

h- &h Qg <3 Q H^go H ►© O O OQ 

o CO tJ< 00 t- O 1ON00 o co »© t— 00 

00 te tc«i t-00 uooooo 0000 cmcsi 

IO O lOO i© »© lOiOiO «0 00 <© eo OOO 



60 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

1. In the fourteenth, century, as we have seen, the English 
people had the unity, patriotism, and intellectual alertness 
which are essential to the production of literature. For a 
hundred and fifty years after the death of Chaucer, however, 
they manifested hardly any literary productivity. Show 
how this barrenness would naturally result from the follow- 
ing causes : 

a. The lack of education among the mass of the people. 

b. The Wars of the Roses, through 

(1) The practical extermination of the nobles. 

(2) The increase of poverty and misery. 

(3) The distraction of men's thoughts from intellec- 

tual things. 

c. The suppression of Lollardry. 

2. Show, on the other hand, how intellectual activity was 
kept alive, and a future outburst of creative energy prepared 
for, through the following : 

a. The persistence of Lollardry in secret. 

b. The popular ballads. 

c. The Miracle Plays, and other forms of folk drama. 

d. The invention of printing. 

e. The tales of Arthur, now given permanent form by 

Malory. 
/. The spread of the reading habit among the mass of the 
people. 

3. Try to get a general view of England in the later 
sixteenth century. For young people, the best single book 
for this purpose is perhaps a novel, Kingsley's Westward 
Ho ! which should be read or reread, at least in part, while 
studying this section. Meanwhile study, with the help of 
the table and the histories, the great movements which united 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 61 

to stimulate the English of the sixteenth century. For each 
movement make a tabular list of dates that may serve as 
milestones, pointing out its development, its manifestations, 
and its decay. Bear constantly in mind our final purpose : 
to understand the genesis of the Elizabethan literature. 

I. The Unifying and Strengthening of the Government 

4. Show how the government was united and made strong 
by each of the following facts or tendencies : 

a. The accession and marriage of Henry VII. 

b. Concentration of power in the hands of the king, through 

(1) The practical extermination of the feudal lords by 

the Wars of the Roses. 

(2) The weakening of Parliament (through what 

causes ?). 

(3) Eoyal courts. 

(4) Henry VIFs ways of getting money. 

(5) The transformation of warfare (in several re- 

spects). 

(6) The creation by Henry VIII of a nobility depend- 

ent on the king. 

(7) The Act of Supremacy. 

(8) The suppression of the monasteries. 

(9) The tact and personal force of several of the 

Tudor sovereigns (which?). 

c. The loss of Calais. 

5. Describe the direct influence of certain early Tudor 
sovereigns upon education and upon the production of lit- 
erature. 

6. What was the attitude of Elizabeth toward culture ? 
In what ways was literature affected by the relations of the 
queen (a) to the court ? (b) to the higher classes ? (c) to the 
people ? 



62 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

II. Internal Prosperity of England 

7. Show how prosperity was promoted through the Tudor 
period, by 

a. Peace and order. 

b. Low taxation. 

c. The downfall of feudalism. 

d. The rise of industries. 

e. The increase in importance of towns. 
/. The development of commerce. 

g. The break with the papacy. 

h. The suppression of the monasteries. 

8. Compare the conditions of life in England during the 
fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries. Discuss houses, 
furniture, means of keeping warm, food, clothing. 

9. Show how prosperity and changed conditions influenced 
literature : (a) through economy of vitality ; (b) through in- 
crease of leisure ; (c) through the effect on the imagination. 

10. Trace the progress in wealth, education, and importance 
of the middle class. In what ways did the different classes 
mingle more freely than before ? How would the widening 
of intelligence and of sympathy affect the production of lit- 
erature ? 

11. Point out the effects upon literature of the centraliza- 
tion of life in London. 

III. Discovery 

12. Explain the following : " The sphere of human inter- 
est was widened as it has never been widened before or since 
by the revelation of a new heaven and a new earth." l 

13. Trace the gradual discovery of the New World ; of 
the coast of Africa ; of the East. 

1 Green : Short History of the English People. 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 63 

14. Outline the achievements of the following English 
travelers : Frobisher, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Drake, Ra- 
leigh, Grenville, Jenkinson, Willoughby. 

15. What would be the effects upon men's imaginations 
of such reports as the one that follows ? 

" . . . The common soldier shal here fight for gold, and pay him- 
self e in steede of pence, with plates halfe a foote brode, wheras he 
breaketh his bones in other warres for . . . penury. Those com- 
manders and Chieftaines, that shoote at honour, and abundance, shal 
find there more rich and bewtiful cities, more temples adorned with 
golden Images, more sepulchres filled with treasures, than . . . Cortez 
found in Mexico. . . . The soil besides is so excellent and so full 
of riuers, as it will carry sugar, ginger, and all those other commodities 
which the west Indies hath. " * 

16. What theories had been held during the middle ages 
in regard to (a) astronomy ? (&) physiology ? (c) chemistry ? 
What discoveries in natural science were made during the 
sixteenth century, or soon after its close ? Who were the 
important scientists, and what did each accomplish ? 

17. What must have been the effect of Copernicus' dis- 
covery upon men's conceptions of their own importance ? 
On their mental pictures of the universe ? 

18. Which class of discoveries, the geographical or the 
scientific, would naturally leave more evident traces upon 
the literature ? Explain and illustrate. 

IV. The New Learning, with the Italian Renaissance 

19. The new learning flourished in Italy in the four- 
teenth century, and to some extent influenced Chaucer ; 
why was there so long an interval before it became estab- 
lished in England ? 

20. Give some account of (a) Colet; (6) Erasmus; and 

1 Raleigh, Sir Walter : The Discoverie of Gviana. 



64 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(c) Sir Thomas More, as early students of the ancient clas- 
sics in England. 

See Dictionary of National Biography; and Seebohm, Oxford Reform- 
ers of 1498. Longmans. 

21. What English translations of classical and Italian 
works appeared during the latter half of the sixteenth cen- 
tury ? 

Consult Ryland. (See p. 3.) 

22. Show how each of the following was at once an indi- 
cation of the advancement of learning and an influence 
toward it : 

a. The teaching of the Latin and especially of the Greek 

classics at the universities. 

b. The foundation of schools. 

c. The establishment of libraries. 

d. The translation of classic and Italian works. 

e. The invention of printing. 

23. How did the new learning affect England indirectly 
through the renaissance in Italy ? Point out how this influ- 
ence showed itself in different directions; e.g., in art in its 
different forms, including literature ; in government ; in court 
etiquette. 

24. Eind out what you can about the methods of teach- 
ing in those days. How did the teachers differ from the 
schoolmen ? From the teachers of to-day ? How were the 
students different ? 

25. What effects would the enthusiastic study of the 
great old books have upon the production of new ones ? 

V. The Reformation 

26. Describe the attitude of the men of the middle ages 
toward the great Roman Catholic Church. Would this 
attitude help or hinder free intellectual activity ? Explain. 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 65 

27. Trace the causes, the beginnings, and the progress of 
the reformation. 

28. Show how the following effects of the reformation 
would influence (a) the intellectual life of Englishmen; 
(b) the production of literature : 

(1) The breaking loose from the papacy. 

(2) The dissolution of the monasteries. 

(3) The translations of the Bible. 

(4) The assumption of the right of private judg- 

ment. 

(5) The spread of the doctrines of Luther, Calvin, 

and other reformers. 

29. In what ways were the reformation and the renais- 
sance hostile to each other ? In what way did they rein- 
force each other ? What was the importance to literature 
of the fact that in England they came at the same epoch ? 

VI. The Sense of National Importance 

30. Under each of the movements already studied, point 
out any facts or tendencies that would increase in English- 
men the sense of the importance of their country. 

31. Show how the influence of England abroad was 
increased by each of the following : 

a. Foreign alliances. 

b. The break with the papacy. 

c. The development of the navy and of the com- 

mercial marine. 

d. The foreign policy of Elizabeth and of 

Burleigh. 

e. The alliance with the Netherlands. 

/ Discoveries and claims in the New World. 
g. The struggle with Spain. 



66 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

32. How great was Spain in 1588? Give several reasons 

why the English should hate her. In what instances was 

England strikingly victorious over Spain? How would 

Englishmen feel about these victories ? 

See account of the Armada in Motley's The United Netherlands, vol. ii, 
ch. xix. See also Tennyson's The Revenge. 

33. Compare the standing of England abroad at the 
.beginning and at the close of Elizabeth's reign. 

34. What effects would national pride have upon (a) the 
amount of literature produced? (b) the subject-matter? 
(c) the spirit ? 

35. Point out ways in which the conditions of the 
sixteenth century in England resembled those of the four- 
teenth. Eor what reasons should we expect the sixteenth 
century to produce a greater literature ? 



CHAPTER V 

SPENSER 

" Whoever can endure unmixed delight, whoever can tolerate music 
and painting and poetry all in one, whoever wishes to be rid of thought 
and to let the busy anvils of the brain be silent for a time, let him read in 
The Faerie Queene. There is the land of pure heart's ease, where no 
ache or sorrow of spirit can enter." — Lowell : Spenser. 

Bibliography 

I. Works and Biography" 

Complete Works of Edmund Spenser. Edited by R. Morris. 
Memoir by J. W. Hales. London and New York : Macmillan. 1871. 
Globe edition. 

Best student's complete edition in one volume. 

The Faerie Queene, Book I. Edited with notes by G. W. Kitchin. 
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1871. 

Church, R. W. ♦. Spenser. London : Macmillan ; New York : 
Harper. English Men of Letters Series. 

Hales, J. W. : Memoir. prefixed to the Globe edition. 

Hinchman and Gummere, Lives of Great English Writers. (See 
p. 5.) 

Grosart's ten-volume library edition of Spenser's Complete Works 
in Verse and Prose, Vol. i, has a biography and critical essays. Printed 
for the Spenser Society. 1882-1884. 

II. Guide 

Carpenter, F. I. : An Outline Guide to the Study of Spenser. 
Chicago. 1894. 

Points out many lines of study, with topics and exhaustive refer- 
ences. At once scholarly and suggestive. 

67 



68 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



III. Criticism. For the Teacher. 

Lowell, J. R. : "Spenser," in Literary Essays, vol. iv. 
Dowden, E. : " Spenser the Poet and Teacher"; and "Heroines of 
Spenser," in Transcripts and Studies. London: Paul. 1888. 



IV. Fiction 

Landor, W. S. : "Essex and Spenser," in Camelot Series. Lon- 
don : Scott. Imaginary Conversations. 



Reading 

The Faerie Queene : 

Prefatory letter to Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Book I (Una and the Red Cross Knight) : canto i ; ii, stanzas 
28-end ; iii, 1-21; iv, 1-38; v, 17-end ; vi ; vii; viii; x, 1-3; 11; 
68 ; xi ; xii, 21-end. 

Book II : canto vii. (The Cave of Mammon.) 

Book III : cantos ii and iii. (Britomart goes out in search of 
Arthegal.) 

Book IV: canto iv, stanzas 11-33; 39-45. (Fight between Brito- 
mart and Arthegal.) 

Memory Passages 
The Faerie Queene : I, i, 34; I, iii, 4. 

Insert in your notebook a portrait of Spenser. Try to 
find a reproduction of some well-authenticated portrait 
which harmonizes w T ith the conception of the man you gain 
from studying his life and poems. 

To the Teacher. — In teaching Spenser, the teacher should have in mind 
the lines of study proposed on pp. 8 ff. Even more important than such 
kinds of work, however, in the case of Spenser, is the appreciation of the 
beauty of the poetry. For this reason, among others, more criticism 
than before is called for in the topics. The teacher will need to use every 
precaution in order that the aesthetic judgments of the students may be 
independent and well-founded. 






SPENSER 69 

Life of Spenser 

1. Of what rank were Spenser's family and connections ? 
How would this fact influence his ideals ? His choice of 
subjects? The stores of remembered images upon which 
his imagination could draw? 

2. Tell what you know of Spenser's education. What 
were, in your opinion, its most stimulating and formative 
elements ? 

3. Who were his youthful associates? How may each 
have influenced him? 

4. Remembering your survey of the age, enumerate 
the chief forms of intellectual stimulus to which Spenser 
was subjected, and through what agencies he was reached 
by each. 

5. Was Rosalind, in your opinion, a real woman ? Relate 
what you consider to be the facts of the case., 

See The Shepheards Calendar, and biographies. 

6. Give the main facts connected with Spenser's resi- 
dence in Ireland. Was it, on the whole, advantageous, or 
the opposite, to his achievement as a poet? 

7. From what Spenser wrote about his wife, and what 

you can learn from the biographies, give a description of 

her, and an account of the courtship. How much effect 

had the marriage, in your opinion, upon Spenser's work as 

a poet ? 

See the Amoretli, the sonnets Spenser wrote to his lady-love during 
his courtship; the Epithalamion, or hymn for his marriage day; and 
the description of Elizabeth introduced into The Faerie Queene, VI, x, 
5-28. 

8. What measure of appreciation did Spenser receive 
from his contemporaries ? 

9. Do you think that the tradition that Spenser died 
" for want of bread " is reliable ? Explain. 



70 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

The Faerie Queene 

10. What was Spenser's scheme for the broad outlines of 
the plot of TJie Faerie Queene as a whole ? (See prefatory 
letter to Sir Walter Raleigh.) How much of his design 
did he execute ? What relation to this plot have Una and 
the Red Cross Knight of book I ? 

11. Even in the letter to Raleigh, we can see signs of 
Spenser's relations to the great forces of his day. Point 
out how in the very warp and woof of Spenser's great 
design there appear marks of the potent influence of each 
of the following : 

a. The revival of classical learning. 

b. The Italian renaissance. 

c. The reformation. 

d. Several forces dating from the middle ages. 

e. Queen Elizabeth. 

12. It is very important, in reading Spenser, to conceive 
all the images that the poet meant to convey. Read with 
your " shaping spirit of imagination " x awake. 

13. Write in a few words the adventures of Una while 
she is separated from the Red Cross Knight; and then 
those of the Knight meanwhile. Is it easy to pick out the 
thread of the narrative ? Are there any episodes which 
have no apparent connection with the story ? Does the tale 
progress swiftly to a climax ? 

[Compare the plot with one of Chaucer's. Criticise Spenser's man- 
agement of his plot. 

Kemember that to criticise does not necessarily mean to blame; it 
includes favorable as well as unfavorable judgment. 

14. Point out any improbabilities in the plot. Do they interfere 
with your enjoyment ? Explain.] 

1 Coleridge : Dejection : an Ode. 






SPENSER 71 

15. Where has Spenser laid the scene of T7ie Faerie 
Queene ? Collect details from which you can infer facts 
about climate, animals, plants, inhabitants, relation to other 
countries, etc. 

16. Is TJie Faerie Queene a good title ? Explain. 

17. Select passages from TJie Faerie Queene which seem 
to you word pictures. Illustrate in detail Spenser's skill in 
representing color, light, form, background. 

18. Thomas Campbell, and several critics after him, 
have called Spenser "the Eubens of English poetry." Are 
Spenser's pictures, taken in general, more like the paint- 
ings of Eubens than those of other painters ? If so, how ? 
Or do you disagree with the opinion ? 

19. Was Spenser's sense of hearing as well developed as 
his sense of sight ? Did he take as much delight in sounds 
as in color and form ? Collect sound images from the poem. 
How frequent are they? What kinds of sounds do they 
represent — i.e., natural, musical, etc.? Illustrate freely. 
How successfully does Spenser describe them ? Point out 
several means he uses in the description of sounds. 

20. Eead aloud several times the following stanza : 

" And more to lulle him in his slumber soft, 
A trickling stream e from high rock tumbling downe, 
And ever-drizling raine upon the loft, 
Mixt with a murmuring winde, much like the sowne 
Of swarming Bees, did cast him in a swowne. 
No other noyse, nor peoples troublous cryes, 
As still are wont V annoy the walled towne, 
Might there be heard ; but careless Quiet lyes 
Wrapt in eternall silence farre from enimyes." x 

Show how the sounds are suited to the sense. Find other 
stanzas, or lines, where there is a similar appropriateness. 

1 The Faerie Queene, i, i, xli. 



72 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

[Does Spenser use onomatopoetic words ? 

21. In poetry, much of the beauty of sound results from the choice 
and succession of vowels. Find instances where Spenser has so chosen 
and combined vowels as to produce beautiful effects. Note his prac- 
tice with regard to repetition of vowel sounds ; with regard to variety- 
Does he use liquids skilfully ? Give instances in each case. 

22. Study the following stanza for a peculiarity of Spenser's use of 
initial consonants. Collect and compare in class other examples, and 
give the technical term applied in such cases. Trace the history of 
the device. Decide where Spenser has used it wisely ; and point out 
any cases where in your opinion he has overused it. 

" Ere long they come where that same wicked wight 
His dwelling has, low in an hollow cave, 
Far underneath a craggy cliff ypight, 
Dark, dolefull, dreary, like a greedy grave, 
That still for carrion carcases doth crave ; 
On top whereof ay dwelt the ghastly Owle, 
Shrieking his balefull note, which ever drave 
Far from that haunt all other chearefull fowle, 
And all about it wandring ghostes did wayle and howle." *] 

23. When Sir Philip Sidney read the stanza quoted in 
22, and the two succeeding stanzas, he is reported to have 
burst into "transports of admiration." What in the pas- 
sage is adapted to appeal to the tastes of the age ? How 
do you yourself like it ? 

24. Collect instances of appeal to each of the following 
senses: smell, taste, feeling, the muscular sense, the tem- 
perature sense. To which of these does Spenser appeal 
most frequently ? To which least often ? 

25. Where did Spenser get his stanza form ? How many 
lines has it? How many feet has each line but one? 
Which is the exception, and how many feet has it ? Is 
the accented syllable before or after the unaccented sylla- 
ble ? What is the technical name for th,e meter of most of 

i Ibid. I, ix, 33. 



SPENSER 73 

the lines ? For the exception ? Are the rhyming syllables 
in the same order in the different stanzas ? Make out a 
rhyme scheme, designating by a the first rhyming syllable 
and all those rhyming with it, and by b the second and 
those rhyming with it, and so on. Be prepared to explain 
the stanza to the class, taking up these points without 
detailed questions. 

26. How well does Spenser's stanza suit his subject- 
matter ? 

27. What is Spenser's favorite figure of speech ? 
See The Faerie Queene, I, vi, 1; v, 18; vi, 10. 

28. Some of Spenser's descriptions, such as that of the 
Cave of Error (I, i, 14-22) and that of Duessa Unmasked 
(I, viii, 46-48), have been thought by some critics too hor- 
rible to be in good taste. What is your opinion about the 
matter ? What led Spenser to introduce such descriptions ? 
What kind of subjects does he make horrible ? 

29. Taine says : " We perceive that his characters are not 
flesh and blood, and that all these brilliant phantoms are 
phantoms, and nothing more." Do you agree with him ? 
Justify or condemn (giving your reasons) the state of things 
you believe to exist. 

30. Trace the allegorical significance of each character in 
the first book, so far as you have read it. Does understand- 
ing the moral, with you personally, increase or diminish 
enjoyment of the poem ? 

If the allegory seriously annoys you, let it alone. Read what Hazlitt 
says about this : " But some people will say that all this may be very fine, 
bat that they cannot understand it on account of the allegory. They are 
afraid of the allegory, as if they thought it would bite them : they look at 
it as a child looks at a painted dragon, and think it will strangle them in 
its shining folds. This is very idle- If they do not meddle with the alle- 
gory, the allegory will not meddle with them. Without minding it at all, 
the whole is as plain as a pike-staff." 1 

1 Lectures on the English Poets. 



74 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

31. To Spenser, how important was the allegory ? What 
does this prove about his ethical nature ? In what different 
ways does he show, when in the poem he brings good and 
evil into conflict, on which side he stands ? By what great 
movement of his age does this prove him to have been 
influenced ? 

32. What in Spenser's poem came down to him from the 
middle ages ? 

Chivalry — what else ? 

[33. Prove that Spenser was profoundly influenced by the renais- 
sance. Using only inferences deduced from The Faerie Qaeene, 
show (a) that he loved beauty in nature, in woman, in art ; (&) that 
the classics were familiar and dear to him ; (c) that he drew inspiration 
from the poets of Italy. 

34. Do the effects of the reformation and of the renaissance con- 
flict in Spenser ? Is there any reason why they might have been 
expected to do so ? 

35. Pick out words used by Spenser that are now out of fashion. 
How do these compare in number with those in Shakespeare's plays ? 
Explain the difference. Is Spenser's course adapted to produce the 
result at which he aimed ? Explain. 

36. What reasons can you see why Spenser's contemporaries should 
have enjoyed TJie Faerie Queene f Remember their tastes, and see 
how far Spenser's work would gratify these. 

37. Lamb called Spenser " the poet's poet." The following poets, 
besides many others, read him in their youth : Keats, Coleridge, 
Fletcher, Gray (who called him " Fairie Spenser"). Note also the 
following quotations : — 

a. " . . . Our sage and serious Poet Spenser, whom I dare be known to 
think a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas." * 

b. " Spenser has ever been a favorite poet to me [Pope] ; he is like a 
mistress whose faults we see, but love her with them all." 2 

c. "I believe I can tell the particular little chance that filled my head 
first with such chimes of verse as have never since left ringing there ; for 
1 remember, when I began to read and take some pleasure in it, there was 

1 Milton: Areopagitica. 2 Spence's Anecdotes. 



SPENSER 75 

wont to lie in my mother's parlor . . . Spenser's Works ; this I happened 
to fall upon, and was infinitely delighted with the stories of the knights 
and giants and monsters and brave horses which I found everywhere there 
(though my understanding had little to do with all this) ; and by degrees 
with the tinkling of the rhyme and dance of the numbers, so that I had 
read him all before I was twelve years old, and was thus made a poet." l 

What, in your opinion, are the reasons why poets have so loved 
Spenser ?] 

Essay Subjects 

Narration 
Write a prose tale based upon one of the following stories, 
which are woven, a piece here" and a piece there, into the 
plot of The Faerie Queene. Follow the order of time. 
Omit what does not strictly belong to your tale. Decide 
before you begin whether you will write for children or for 
grown people. Try to keep the atmosphere of the old 
story, and to make the charm as well as the plot of the 
tale evident to us. 

1. The babe with the bloody hands. 

II, i, 35-61; ii, 1-3, 10; iii, 1, 2; xii, 37-87; III, i, 2. 

2. Britomart and Arthegal. 

III, i, 4-14; ii; iii; iv, 1-12; IV, vi, 11-47; V, vi; vii. 

3. Florimel and Marinell. 

Ill, i, 15-18; iv, 12-43 and 46-54; vii, 1-27; viii, 1-9 and 20-41; IV, xii; 
v, iii, 1-28. 

4. FlorimePs girdle. 

Ill, vii, 30, 31, 36, 61; viii, 1-9; IV, ii, 20-28; iv; v, 1-28; V, iii, 1-28. 

5. Amoret. 

Ill, vi, 28-45 and 51-54; IV, x; III, xi, 7-28 and 50-55; xii; IV, v, 
39-46 ; vi, 1-10 and 34-39. 

6. Calidore and Coridon. 

VI, xii, 4-10; ix; v, x, 32-44; xi; xii, 2, 3, 14-22; 38. 

7. Braggadocio and Guyon's horse. 

II, iii, 1-21 ; V, iii, 29-39. 

1 Cowley : Essays. 



76 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Description 

8. Conceive vividly one of the scenes described in Ten- 
nyson's The Palace of Art or A Dream of Fair Women, and 
describe it as nearly as you can in the manner of Spenser. 

Exposition • 

Be sure you spell Spenser's name correctly. 

9. The senses of Spenser the poet. 
See topics on pp. 71 f. 

10. Spenser's reading. • 

Literatures ? Works ? Influence of his reading on his writing ? De- 
duce conclusions from The Faerie Queene, noticing what authors he men- 
tions, and from whom he borrows. Then supplement your own discoveries 
by consulting biographies. 

11. Spenser as a maker of pictures. 

12. Color in Spenser. 

13. Spenser's love of beauty. 

Kinds he appreciated ; degree ; ways in which he shows his appreciation. 
[14. Spenser's appreciation of other arts than literature. 
See I, vii, 19-32; II, xii, 45-64; III, xi, 28-48; xii, 1-26, etc. 

15. Spenser as " the Don Quixote of poets." a ] 

16. The scenery of the land of TJie Faerie Queene. 

[17. Mr. Lee writes, a Especially perfect is the art with which he 
depicts fountains and rivers and oceans." 2 Discuss this dictum.] 

18. Spenser's human figures. 

How vivid to the eye ; how living ; how varied. 

19. Spenser's stories as stories for children. 

20. Eeasons why American young people should read 
The Faerie Queene. 

[21. Spenser's meter. 

22. The grotesque in Spenser. 

23. Spenser as " the poet's poet." 3 ] 

1 Lowell : Spenser. 

2 Great Englishmen of the Sixteenth Century. 3 Lamb. 






CHAPTER VI 

BACON 

" I have taken all knowledge to be my province." 

Bacon : Letter to Lord Burleigh. 

Bibliography 
I. Works 

Essays. Many "good editions. That edited by E. A. Abbott is the 
best for detailed study. Introduction, notes, and index. 2 vols. 
London: Longmans. 1876. 

The Works of Francis Bacon. 1 vol. London : Newnes. 1902. 
New York : Scribner. Includes Essays, New Atlantis, Advance- 
ment of Learning, etc. Thin paper. 

The New Atlantis. Edited by A. T. Flux. London : Macmillan. 
1899. Or in Works (see below) , vol. v. Also printed by Macmillan 
with the Essays. 

The standard library edition of the complete works is edited by 
Spedding, Ellis, and Heath. London : Longmans. 1857-58. Cam- 
bridge : Riverside Press. 1863. 

II. Life aistd Criticism 

Abbott, E. A. : Francis Bacon. An Account of His Life and 
Works. London : Macmillan. 1885. 

Introduction to his edition of the Essays. (See above.) 

Church, R. W. : Bacon. London: Macmillan; New York: Harper. 
1884. English Men of Letters Series. 

Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. (See 
p. 5.) 

Spedding, J. : Francis Bacon and his Times. Boston: Houghton. 
1878. 

The monumental work. 

77 



78 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Reading 

Essays : 

1. " Of Truth." 27. " Of Friendship. " 

6. "Of Simulation and Dis- 32. " Of Discourse." 

simulation. ' ' 

11. " Of Great Place." 36. " Of Ambition." 

22. "Of Cunning." 50. " Of Studies." 

24. " Of Innovations." 55. "Of Honor and Reputa- 
tion." 

Novum Organum : book I, xxxviii-xliv. Works, vol. viii. 

Also, as setting forth Bacon's dreams for science and hu- 
manity, The New Atlantis, the first few pages, and the pages 
describing the " House of Solomon. " 

" There is not to be found in any human composition a passage more 
eminently distinguished by profound and serene wisdom than the descrip- 
tion of the ' House of Solomon ' in The New Atlantis." 1 

To the Teacher. — In contrast to Spenser, who must be appreciated 
largely through the aesthetic faculties, Bacon presents a field for the exer- 
cise of such intellectual powers as discrimination, analysis, comparison, 
and inference. To follow corresponding lines here, thus varying the work, 
will both promote interest and further symmetrical development. 

Life and Character of Bacon 

1. Point out definite effects on Bacon's character and 
career of each of the following: 

a. His family and connections. 

b. His bringing up at court. 

c. Nature of the university training of the day. 

d. His stay in Paris, at the embassy. 

e. The attitude of his uncle toward him in his early 

public life. 

2. How early did Bacon decide what should be the chief 
purpose of his life ? Is this experience common ? What ad- 

1 Macaulay : Essays. 



BACON 79 

vantages had it in his case ? Did he set about attaining his 
end in the wisest possible way ? 

3. Why did Bacon begin his struggle for political prefer- 
ment? Had he, in your opinion, one reason, or mixed 
motives ? 

4. Which was dearer to Bacon, his philosophical aims, or 
his political career ? In a letter written by Bacon to Lord 
Burleigh immediately after his father's death, Bacon says : 

"I confess I have as vast contemplative ends as I have moderate 
civil ends ; for I have taken all knowledge to be my province. " 

Did he, in your judgment, hold consistently to this attitude 
all through his career ? 

5. Judge Bacon's relations with Essex. 

6. Was Bacon guilty of bribery ? 

Look up the facts of the case; Bacon's confession ; other statements by 
or about Bacon. Let the class take sides and hold an informal debate. 

7. How was Bacon's behavior after his disgrace in keeping 
with his character ? 

8. What was the cause of Bacon's death ? How was his 
action characteristic ? 

9. What do the following descriptions tell us of his hab- 
its in society ? Of his traits of character ? Of his power to 
read human nature ? 

a. "All accounts represent him as a most delightful companion, 
adapting himself to company of every degree, calling, and humor, not 
engrossing the conversation, but trying to get all to talk in turn on 
the subject they best understood, and not disdaining to light his own 
candle at the lamp of any other." * 

b. " There happened in my time one noble speaker who was full of 
gravity in his speaking ; his language, when he could spare or pass by 
a jest, was nobly censorious. No man ever spoke more neatly, more 
presly, more weightily, or suffered less emptiness, less idleness in 
what he uttered. No member of his speech but consisted of his own 

1 John Campbell : Lives of the Lord Chancellors. 



80 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

graces. His hearers could not cough or look aside from him, without 
loss. He commanded where he spoke, and had his judges angry and 
pleased at his devotion. No man had their affections more in his 
power. The fear of every man that heard him was lest he should 
make an end. " 1 

10. Was Bacon, as Pope called him, "The wisest, bright- 
est, meanest of mankind ? " Discuss separately the applica- 
bility of the three adjectives. 

[11. Dr. Abbott speaks of " the sanguine self-deception and exces- 
sive flexibility of his [Bacon's] nature. " Discuss this characterization. ] 

Writings of Bacon 

12. Give an account of the great task Bacon set before 
himself. Show how his public career, and each of his writ- 
ings, were in his mind related to this main purpose. How 
much of his programme did he carry out ? 

13. What was Bacon's greatest service to the world as a 
scientist ? 

14. To what final end did Bacon mean the acquirement 
by man of the knowledge of nature to contribute ? Was it 
the satisfaction of the disinterested love of truth ? 

15. Explain what Bacon means by the " idols " of the 
" den," "the tribe," " the market place," and "the theater," 
and show why he chose these terms. Illustrate each by 
giving as an example an " idol " that deludes men now. 

16. What sort of emotional nature should you attribute 
to Bacon, judging from his essays on friendship (27), love 
(10), marriage (8), and religion (3)? 

[Compare these essays with those on kindred themes by Emerson, 
Thoreau, and Montaigne. 

Montaigne's Essais had been published in France, 1580-1588, and had 
in some slight degree influenced the form of Bacon's Essays. In them he 
refers several times to the French essayist ; but the spirit of the two men 
was very different. 

1 Ben Jonson : Timber. 



. BACOJST 81 

17. Sum up Bacon's maxims for the conduct of his own political 
life, as far as you can deduce them from the Essays.'] 

18. Eeport on Machiavelli. Bacon's father and Bacon 
himself accepted Machiavelli's point of view. Who was 
he ? What was his conception of statesmanship ? How 
did it surpass the theories previously in practice ? Was it, 
on the whole, helpful or harmful in its day ? 

19. Divide the essays assigned into two groups, according 
to subject, giving the groups names. Which is the larger 
and more characteristic group ? 

20. How does TJie New Atlantis help to explain Bacon's 
career ? 

21. What institution endowed by an American business 
man seems like a modern embodiment of the " House of 
Solomon " ,in Bacon's The New Atlantis ? Compare Bacon's 
ideal with the plans of the trustees of the modern institution. 

22. Find some of Bacon's poetry. Does it affect your 
opinion of the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy ? 

[23. It will be a help in judging Bacon, i.e., in determining the 
nature and value of his ideas, to compare his essays with the Medita- 
tions of Marcus Aurelius. Two extracts are given here ; but it is 
recommended that students read part of the work itself. 

Among the many editions may he mentioned that in the Golden 
Treasury Series. Another illuminating parallel would he with Thomas 
a Kempis. 

a) " But perhaps the desire of the thing called fame will torment thee. 
— See how soon everything is forgotten, and look at the chaos of infinite 
time on each side of [the present], and the emptiness of applause, and the 
changeableness and want of judgment in those who pretend to give praise, 
and the narrowness of the space within which it is circumscribed. . . . 
For the whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it is this thy 
dwelling, and how few there are in it, and what kind of people are they 
who will praise thee. 

. . . Among the things readiest to thy hand to which thou shalt turn, 
let there be these, which are two. One is that things do not touch the 
soul, for they are external and remain immovable ; but our perturbations 



82 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

come only from the opinion which is within. The other is that all these 
things which thou seest change immediately and will no longer be ; and 
constantly bear in mind how many of these changes thou hast already 
witnessed. The universe is transformation : life is opinion." 1 

b) "Look down from above on the countless herds of men and their 
countless solemnities, and the infinitely varied voyagings in storms and 
calms, and the differences among those who are born, who live together, 
and die. And consider, too, the life lived by others in olden time, and 
the life of those who will live after thee, and the life now lived among 
barbarous nations, and how many know not even thy name, and how 
many will soon forget it, and how they who perhaps now are praising thee 
will very soon blame thee, and that neither a posthumous name is of any 
value, nor reputation, nor anything else." 2 

Among the essays that show most plainly how Bacon differed from 
the Roman emperor are 11, 36, 22, 55, 6. What does Bacon appar- 
ently have in mind as the great end of human effort — the summum 
bonum of life ? Does this seem to Marcus Aurelius equally important ? 
Explain why the two should feel as they do. Get two contrasting 
expressions for the body of maxims of these authors. With which 
should you class Emerson ? Franklin ? The author of Proverbs ?] 

24. Do Bacon's essays have a plan such as you are 
expected to make for your themes ? Test several by mak- 
ing outlines of them. 

25. Here is a single sentence from Sidney's Arcadia. 
(a) Compare it in length, degree of conciseness, and struc- 
ture, with the sentences by Bacon which follow it. 

a. " But he, as if, centaur-like, he had been one piece with the 
horse, was no more moved than one with the going of his own legs, 
and in effect so did he command him as his own limbs ; for though 
he had both spurs and wand, they seemed rather marks of sover- 
eignty than instruments of punishment ; his hand and leg, with 
most pleasing grace, commanding without threatening, and rather 
remembering than chastising; at least, if sometimes he did, it was 
so stolen that neither our eyes could discern it nor the horse with 
any change did complain of it, he ever going so just with the horse, 
either forthright or turning, that it seemed, as he borrowed the 
horse's body, so he lent the horse his mind." 

1 Translation of G. Long. 2 Ibid. 



BACON 83 

b. " Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and 
wise men use them." 1 

c. "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and 
writing an exact man." 2 

d. " Histories make men wise ; poets witty ; the mathematics 
subtle ; natural philosophy deep ; moral grave ; logic and rhetoric, 
ready to contend." 3 

26. Find out, if necessary, what is meant by "parallel 
structure " and " antithesis " ; and point out any instances 
of either in the sentences above. 

27. " Revenge triumphs over death ; love slights it ; honor aspireth 
to it ; grief flieth to it; fear preoccupieth it." 4 

In this sentence, why does Bacon choose for each clause 
just the verb he uses ? What does the passage show of the 
degree of precision of his wording ? Bring to class other 
passages that illustrate the same quality of style. 

28. " As if there were sought in knowledge a couch whereupon to 
rest a searching and restless spirit ; or a terrace for a wandering and 
variable mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect ; or a tower 
of state for a proud mind to rest itself upon ; or a fort or commanding 
ground for strife and contention ; or a shop for profit or sale ; and 
not a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of 
man's estate." 5 

Explain how knowledge can be used in each of these ways, 
naming in each case a person, historical or fictitious, who 
has so used it. 

29. The figure of speech used here is called metaphor. 
Write several sentences, each containing a metaphor about 
such a subject as the following: school; the newspaper; 
sleep; running; bread; Japan; some well-known character, 
as Napoleon, Ulysses, Washington. After your experience, 

1 Of Studies. 2 Ibid. 3 ibid, 4 Qf Death. 

6 Advancement of Learning. 



84 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

how skilful do you consider Bacon in his use of figures 
here ? Find other metaphors in the Essays. 

Essay Subjects 

" A man were better relate himself to a statua or picture, than to suffer 
his thoughts to pass in smother." — " Of Friendship." 
" Writing [maketh] an exact man." — " Of Studies." 

1. A scene from Bacon's boyhood. Persons: Queen Eliza- 
beth, Sir Nicholas Bacon, Francis. 

2. Bacon's letter to his father just before he came home 
from Paris. 

Read the one to his uncle. 

3. Bacon's speech at the trial of Essex. 

4. Dialogue between Bacon and Essex, after the trial. 

5. Scene at Bacon's trial for bribery. 

Picture the scene, the judges, Bacon's appearance and demeanor, the 
charges made, the feelings of the spectators. See Spedding ; and Lee, 
S. : "Bacon," in Great Englishmen of the Sixteenth Century. Study 
the methods used by Macaulay in describing the trial of Warren Hastings 
(Essays). 

6. A defense of Bacon. 

First reduce each of the charges made or implied against Bacon to one 
short sentence. 

7. Debate : Resolved, That Bacon was guilty of bribery. 

8. " Oh, for a Bos well to have recorded the conversation 
when he had Raleigh, Ben Jonson, Selden, and Gondomar 
for guests ! " * 

Report the conversation referred to, as you imagine it. 
What would these men have been likely to talk about ? 

9. Bacon's true forecasts in The New Atlantis. 

" Already some parts, and not the least startling parts, of this glorious 
prophecy have been accomplished, even according to the letter ; and the 
whole, construed according to the spirit, is daily accomplishing all 
around us." 2 

1 Rawley, W. 2 Macaulay : Essays. 



BACON 85 

[10. Bacon's service to science ; what it was, and what it was not. 

11. Counsel for the politician of to-day, drawn from Bacon's 
Essays. 

Besides essays assigned, see 15, 19, 21, 25, 29, 47, 48, 51. 

12. Comparison of the form of Bacon's Essays with the form of 
more recent standard essays. 

Compare the work of M. Arnold, Pater, Macaulay, Hazlitt, Stevenson, 
Dr. Crothers.] 



CHAPTER VII 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 

"The Drama is the chief artistic utterance of the Renaissance in 
England." 

— Symonds : Introduction to Mermaid Series in Christopher Marlowe. 

Bibliography 

I. Influence of the Times on the Drama 

Green, ch. vii, § vii. 

Dowden, E. : Shakespeare : His Mind and Art. London : Paul. 
1880. Ch. i. 

Symonds, J. A. : General introduction to the Mermaid Series, in 
The Best Plays of Christopher Marlowe. London : Unwin. New 
York : Scribner. 

Ward, T. H. : History of English Dramatic Literature. Revised 
edition. London : Macmillan. 1899. Vol. i, pp. 150, 154, 155, 444, 
445, 450-478. 

II. Editions and Collections of Plays 

The excellent Mermaid Series includes the best plays of the chief 
Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists. Edited by H. Ellis. London : 
Unwin. New York : Scribner. 

Arber Reprints, e.g., Ralph Roister Doister. 

Dodsley, R. : Select Collection of Old English Plays. Edited by 
W. C. Hazlitt. London : Reeves and Turner, 1874-1876. 

Gay ley, C. M. : Representative English Comedies. New York : 
Macmillan. 1903. 

Manly, J. B. : Specimens of Pre- Shakespearian Drama. 3 vols. 
Boston : Ginn. Athenaium Press Series. 1897. 

86 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 87 

Morley, H. : English Plays. Vol. iii of CasselPs Library of 
English Literature. London, Paris, and New York : Cassell. 
Thayer, W. R. : Best Elizabethan Plays. Boston : Ginn. 1895. 

Bibliographies for Marlowe and for Shakespeare will be found on 
pages 94 f . and 101 ff. 

III. The Theater: History and Description 

Elze, K., translated by L. D. Schmidt: William Shakespeare. 
London : Bell. 1888. Ch. iv. 

A good short account. 

Ordish, F. T. : Early London Theatres. London : Stock. 1894. 
Camden Library. 

Detailed. 

See also the histories of literature. 

IV. Dramatic History and Criticism 

Ward, A. W. : History of English Dramatic LAterature. Revised 
edition. London : Macmillan. 1899. 

Standard. 

Symonds, J. A. : Shakespeare^ s Predecessors in the English Drama. 
London : Smith and Elder. New edition. 1900. 

Vivid and scholarly. 

Jusserand, J. J. : Le theatre en Angleterre depuis la Conquete 
jusqu'aux predecesseurs immediats de Shakespeare. Paris : Hachette. 
1878. 

Schelling, F. E. : Elizabethan Drama. 1558-1642. 2 vols. 
Boston: Houghton. 1908. 
The English Chronicle Play. London : Macmillan. 1902. 

V. Dramatic Art 

Gummere, F. B. : Handbook of Poetics. Boston : Ginn. 1885. 
Ch. iii. 

A brief and simple account. 

Freytag, G. von : The Technique of the Drama. Translated by 
E. J. MacEwan. Chicago : Scott. 1908. 



STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



< 



o 


fe>03 




Ph 


433 






^ 


>6 




Eh 


- 


^T 






fec.o 




Sc 


a 


ft 




§ 


71 

3 


o 




■X' 








Sh 








© o 


3 


d' 


"c3 

cd 


^ 


ft 




,d 


o 


•- 


y 



^ 


c3 


<3 


S 


W 


o 


pq 


.2 


O 


3 

Ph 


«4 




H3 






CO 


Q 


2 


£ 


OS 

JO 


^ 






HH 


£ 


M 


^ 




B 




H 




PS 


i 


cq 


^ 


^ 


• 2 


SJ 


^ .2 




7| 

00 * 




T-l ^, 


w 


. o 
.2 


a 


H 


u 








o 


X 


a 


W 


53 


H 


ft 
o 


< 


a 


Q 


1—1 



° ^^ s 

a S © tj 

O^r^ fe. 
ft ft 00 



t-H «° 



2 « 



© 
© 

^a 

ftg 

£.2 

.2 c 

§© c 

10 « c 

H O o ^ 
00 +S r 



-mo 

P fe>~ 
►J 03 



fcj ft 00 







S" 










CO 


■ fe> 






03 




CO 


'ft 






© 




cc 






i>> 


O 




ea 


t- 




"S, 


* 




o 


© 

CO 




£ 


o 




fc 


►s 


_^J 


<l 






s 




a 


Oh 




^ 


< 




Sh 






<u 


o 




03 


eo 




o 


~.> 





a . 



~fe- £ 

P ^ W 

§a | 

Ssp 9 



M OS 

8^ co- 
" EH 



s-3 

TH c3 



^ £ 



S3 
P 1 ^ 0Q 

PP I ft 



Ppg 



CO ft tH 



CO Sh riC-t" 3 

© a a « 

*5 r° ° 2 

cs&H a © 
& §5H 

o ;£>© 
'a © o 

ftoSo 
CD * CO 

> 2 © 

5- Cm rt ^-f 



H 



.2 

ft 






a 




i-. 




o 

a 


o 


eo 


5 






CD 


W3 




cp 


3 


? 




Si 


r^ 




CO 


< 


^ 


** CO 












«-« . 


® 










eo 


§i§ 


rC^ 












-s-s'S 


So 

c3 


© 




53 








© 


eo 


O 








it 


-" 


"rO 










r-i 












dfl 

CO 














» h 














tH^o3 














o3 






< 


k 

> 


^ 

^ 




^« 


© 


Ic 


_^ 








M CD 




<~ 


P^^q 





rt o fee § ^ 5»i 

a c3 ^^i5> 
»« 2 « «€ ■* ^ 

^ 08 Si ^.^ 

o-22.§3^ 
.2 2 « S : § 

CD 03 •• -. s; 

.2 b. o =3 § ^ 
^ °"S fete •- 

Q - 03^ ON 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 89 

To the Teacher. — A period or part of a period should be devoted at 
this point to a review of the earlier stages of the development of. the 
drama, this time in chronological order. In the case of younger students, 
the discussion should be more concrete and informal, and less philosophic, 
than is desirable where students are more mature. For this reason two 
sets of topics are provided. 

1. Eeview the history of the drama, so as to be able to 
give a brief but vivid account of the principal early stages 
of its development : 

a. Sports of the dark ages. 

b. Liturgical dramas. 

c. Miracle Plays as acted by the guilds. 

d. Morality Plays. 

e. Interludes. 

To the Teacher. — Eeports of the difficulty and importance of those 
suggested below for mature students need to be assigned some time in 
advance. They should be distributed with impartiality, yet with an eye 
to the needs and powers of the individual students. In most cases, the 
report, whether it is to be read or to be spoken, should be written out 
carefully beforehand. The judicious cooperation of the teacher during 
the preparation of such a piece of work may be of great importance in the 
student's development. 

[1. Oral or written reports, giving a general summary of the field 
covered in chapter iv. The reports should be carefully thought out, 
so that they may be both clear and vivid. 

a. Eudiments of dramatic action in the amusements of the dark 

ages. 

b. Rise and development of the liturgical drama. 

c. The Miracle Play as the germ of the English drama. 

d. The Morality Play as a later stage of development. 

e. The Interlude as a still later stage. 

/. Patrons of the drama from the earliest times; e.g., populace, 
clergy.] 

2. Eeproduce the theatrical conditions of Shakespeare's 
day. 



90 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

a. The theater : 

(1) Number; names. 

(2) Exterior : shape, roof, details. 

(3) Interior. Make diagram showing arrangement 

of stage, balcony, galleries, pit, etc. Describe 
curtain, scenery, properties, methods of seat- 
ing, etc. 

b. Details relating to the performance: e.g., hour, an- 

nouncement of performance, price of admission. 

c. Spectators: classes of society represented, behavior, 

tastes. 

d. The actors : the companies, and how they were sup- 

ported ; their life, costumes, sex, histrionic skill, etc. 

e. Plays : three types then common. 

3. Account for the conditions of the Elizabethan stage in 
the light of its history. 

a. The theater. When, and in consequence of what 

event, were the first theaters built? Where had 
plays been acted before that time ? Show how the 
plan of the theaters was affected by the conditions 
under which plays had previously been given. 

b. The actors. Who were the forerunners of the pro- 

fessional actors of the sixteenth century ? How did 
the companies arise ? Who were their early patrons ? 

c. What four distinct audiences called for plays during 

the period from 1560 to 1580 ? 

d. The Plays. 

4. Besides the national traditions handed down by Miracle 
Plays, the early English playwrights, many of whom were 
university men, were influenced by the plays of Latin 
dramatists. What dramatists did they chiefly imitate ? 
In what instances were translations of Latin plays acted 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 91 

in England? In what plays were the Latin dramas 
imitated ? 

[5. What were the laws of the classic drama, as the English play- 
wrights of the sixteenth century understood them ? What dangers 
had this imitation for the English drama ? In what degree were these 
dangers avoided ? What good results came from the imitation ?] 

Comedy 

[6. What elements of Miracle Plays and Moralities had contributed 
to the development of comedy ?] 

7. Give some account of the following early comedies : 

a. The Four PP 

Described in Symonds, pp. 151 ff . ; Gayley, pp. 29 f. ; Ward, vol. i, 
pp. 244 ff. ; [text, Manly, vol. i, pp. 481 ff.]. 

Give an account of the author ; of the plot. 
[Outline and criticise the plot. ] 

b. Ralph Roister Bolster 

Described in Symonds, pp. 163 ff . ; Ward, vol. i, pp. 256 ff . ; [text, Manly, 
vol. ii, pp. 5 ff.; Gayley, pp. 105 ff.]. 

Who was the author of this play ? For what purpose 
was it written ? What models does it follow ? Why was 
this natural ? 

[Describe the verse.] 






c. Gammer Gurton's Needle 

Described in Symonds, pp. 165 ff. ; [text, Manly, vol. ii, pp. 93 ff . ; 
Gayley, pp. 205 ff.]. 

Under what circumstances was this play intended to be 
acted ? What was the source of the material ? 

[8. Point out several respects in which these three plays show 
increasing skill in making comedies.] 



92 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Tragedy 

9. Here is a summary of the first English tragedy, 1 taken 
from the " Argument " prefixed to the first edition : 

" Gorboduc, King of Britain, divided his realm in his life-time to 
his sons, Eerrex and Porrex. The sons fell to division and dissention. 
The younger killed the elder. The mother, that more dearly loved 
the elder, for revenge killed the younger. The people, moved with 
the cruelty of the fact, rose in rebellion and slew both father and 
mother. The nobility assembled and most terribly destroyed the 
rebels. And afterwards, for want of issue of the prince, whereby the 
succession of the crown became uncertain, they fell to civil war, in 
which both they and many of their issues were slain, and the land for 
a long time almost desolate and miserably wasted." 

In connection with this summary, read the following 
account of the play : 

" Gorboduc is composed of dissertations and monologues. All the 
action occurs behind the scenes, and is merely reported by messengers 
and commented upon on the stage itself. The language is not natural 
and spontaneous. Each person delivers a set oration and tnen steps 
aside for the next to do likewise. The speeches of the individual 
characters average some fifty lines. Each act is concluded with a 
chorus spoken by ' four ancient and sage men of Britain,' which con- 
tains some of the best poetry of the play. Though any amount of 
blood is shed, not a drop flows on the stage. Dumb shows were given 
before each act to reveal in metaphorical pantomime the meaning of 
what followed. These pageants served the double purpose of elucidat- 
ing the play and relieving the dull solemnity of the performance." 2 

[How skilful, in your opinion, is this plot ? Has it movement ? 
Unity ? A chance for character-drawing ? Suspense ? Do you think 
such a play would have proved popular in those days ? Would it be 
popular now ? Does it give a good opportunity for the actor ?] 

10. Who wrote Gorboduc ? For what audience ? 
[On what models ?] 

1 For text of Gorboduc, see Manly, vol. ii, pp. 211 fiV 

2 Golden, W. E. : Brief History of the English Drama. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 93 

The Chronicle History 

11. What elements in the Miracle Plays prepared the 
English audience to enjoy dramas dealing with English 
scenes ? 

12. When and why did the English people become inter- 
ested in the history of their own country ? 

13. Name some of the earliest Chronicle Plays. 

14. How much plot had these early plays ? 
[On what principle were they constructed ?] 

15. How popular were the historical dramas by 1580 ? 
How many are known to have been written between 1590 
and 1600 ? Name some of the more important. 

To the Teacher. — A period may be devoted to the immediate prede- 
cessors of Shakespeare, exclusive of Marlowe. The students should gain 
a clear idea of the conditions of play-writing, of the average life and 
character of the playwrights, and — in case of more mature students — 
of the important contributions of each playwright to the development of 
the drama. Each dramatist may be assigned to a group of students, who 
should be prepared to report as indicated below. All members of the class 
should be expected to take notes during the recitation on all playwrights 
except the one they have looked up. These notes they should afterward 
systematize, supplement, and enter in their notebooks. 

16. In regard to one of the playwrights, Greene, Nash, 

Lodge, Peele, Lyly, and Kyd, prepare to report on the 

topics that follow : 

See Ward, Gayley, Schelling {Elizabethan Drama), Symonds. For 
chapter or pages consult tables of contents or indexes, 

a. Family and early life, 

b. Education. 

c. Connection with the stage. 

d. Personality and habits. 

e. Plays : names, and some description of the^ more 

important. 
[/. Contributions to the development of the drama.] 



94 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

17. Generalize as to the character, relations with the 
stage, and manner of life and of death, of these play- 
wrights. In what respects were the conditions that then 
existed helpful, and in what respects were they detrimental 
to their success as dramatists ? 

18. Let other students report upon certain special modifi- 
cations of the drama in vogue by 1600, or a little later : 

a. The tragedy of blood. 

b. The court comedy. 

c. The domestic comedy. 

d. The romantic comedy. 

e. The masque. 

/. The comedy of humors. 

19. Of the three forms — prose, rhyme, and blank verse — 
in which plays had been written, which was used most 
freely by 1587 or 1590? (Why should this period be 
chosen for discussion ?) In what plays, or kinds of plays, 
had each been employed ? 

20. At that period, how did the popular playwrights 
stand as regards the classic unities ? In what plays had 
these been observed? 

21. What tastes of the audience were catered to by the 
popular plays? 

22. How real were the characters and the action ? 

Marlowe' 
Bibliography 

I. Works 

Ellis, H., editor : The Best Plays of Christopher Marlowe, with a 
General Introduction on the English Drama during the Reigns of 
Elizabeth and James I by J. A. Symonds. London: Unwin. New 
York : Scribner. Mermaid Series. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 95 

Contains Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus, The Jew of Malta, and 
Edward II. 

Dr. Faustus and Goethe's Faust. London : Routledge. Morley's 
Universal Library. 

See also p. 97. 

II. Biography and Criticism 

Lewis, J. C. : Christopher Marlowe : Outlines of his Life and Works. 
London : Gibbings. 1891. 

Ingram, J. H. : Christopher Marlowe and his Associates. London : 
Richards. 1904. 

Long ; illustrated ; fallacious. 

Ellis, H. : Introduction on Marlowe in the Marlowe volume of the 
Mermaid Series. (See above.) 

Reading 

1 Tamburlaine : i, 2, to " Enter a soldier" ; ii, 7 ; 2 Tamburlaine, 
v, 3. 

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus : entire. 

The Jew of Malta : i, 1, 1-40 ; ii, 2. 

The devotees of Marlowe — and to some ambitious young people he 
seems even greater than Shakespeare — will probably read the whole 
of these plays and Edward II. 

Life and Character of Marlowe 

23. Give the known facts in regard to Marlowe's life. 
Compare his life with those of his fellow-playwrights. 

24. Judging merely from the biographical details handed 
down to us, what kind of man was Marlowe ? 

25. Why did Marlowe run so rapidly through his career 
and die so young ? If it had not been for the quarrel that 
ended his life, what would have been his prospects of living 
long? 

26. From the following expressions of certain of Mar- 
lowe's friends, draw your own conclusions as to his 
character : 



96 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

a. " The impression of the man that hath been dear to us, living an 
after-life in our memory." 1 

b. " Mario w, renown'd for his rare art and wit, 

Could ne'er attain beyond the name of Kit." 2 

c. " Kynde Kit Marlowe." 3 

27. What do you infer from the following allusions to 
Marlowe by contemporaries, as to his popularity as a poet 
in his own day ? 

a. " Next Marlowe, bathed in the Thespian springs, 

Had in him those brave translunary things 
That the first poets had ; his raptures were 
All air and fire, which made his verses clear ; 
For that fine madness still he did retain, 
Which rightly should possess a poet's brain." 4 

b. "Mario admired, whose honey-flowing vein 

No English writer can as yet attain, 
Whose name in Fame's immortal treasury 
Truth shall record to deathless memory, 
Mario, late mortal, now framed all divine." 5 

Works of Marlowe 

28. From the following announcement, taken from the 
prologue to Marlowe's first play, infer what was to be the 
attitude of that dramatist on each of the four points taken 
up in topics 19-22 : 

"From jigging veins of rhyming mother wits, 
And such conceits as clownage keeps in play, 
We'll lead you to the stately tent of war, 
Where you shall hear the Scythian Tamburlaine 
Threatening the world with high astounding terms, 
And scourging kingdoms with his conquering sword." 6 

1 Blunt, E. (his publisher and friend). Dedication of Hero and Leander. 

2 Heywood, T. : Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels. s Anonymous. 

4 Drayton, M. : Of Poets and Poesie. 

5 Petowe, H. : To the Quick-Sighted Reader, in H^ro and Leander, 
part 11. 6 Prologue to 1 Tamburlaine. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 97 

29. Sum up the history of the Faust legend. Point out 
in it elements illustrating the mediaeval point of view. In 
Marlowe's treatment of the legend, how does the renais- 
sance spirit appear ? 

It is interesting to compare Dr. Faustus with Goethe's Faust. Bayard 
Taylor's metrical translation of the latter is excellent. 

30. Try to express in one sentence the plot of Dr. Faustus ; 
the plot of Gorboduc. What do you infer about Marlowe's 
skill in plot-making as compared with that of the writer of 
the earlier play ? 

31. Do all Marlowe's characters seem to you equally 
real ? Which characters seem to you most like living 
beings ? How many of these do you find in any one play ? 
Explain the state of things you find to exist. 

32. Compare the three heroes of Marlowe with whom you 
have some acquaintance. What fundamental likeness have 
they ? Account for the resemblance. How are they differ- 
ent ? Express in one sentence your conception of the like- 
ness in difference. 

33. Select (a) passages that seem to you to justify Ben 
Jonson's expression " Marlowe's mighty line "; 1 (b) passages 
that illustrate Nash's phrase : " The swelling bumbast of a 
bragging blank verse." 2 

34. The author of the following lines from 2 Henry VI 
has been said to be " aut Marlowe aut Diabolus" Do you 
agree with this judgment ? Justify your opinion, using 
quotations from works known to be Marlowe's. 

" The gaudy, blabbing, and remorseful day 
Is crept into the bosom of the sea ; 
And now loud-howling wolves arouse the jades 

1 To the Memory of my Beloved Master William Shakespeare, and 
what he hath left us. 

2 To the Gentlemen Students of both Universities. 



98 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

That drag the tragic melancholy night ; 
Who, with their drowsy, slow, and flagging wings, 
Clip dead men's graves and from their misty jaws 
Breathe foul contagious darkness in the air." x 

35. How true to life are Marlowe's women ? 

36. How successful are Marlowe's attempts at humor ? 

37. What characteristics of Marlowe's plays would make 
them popular with Ms contemporaries ? 

38. The plays in the list of reading are given in the 
order of composition. Does Marlowe seem to you to have 
improved as he continued to write ? Or, is his early work 
as good as his later ? 

39. Are we justified in thinking the following passage 
the expression of Marlowe's own feeling ? If so, what 
quality of the man does it illustrate ? 

4 'If all the pens that ever poets held 
Had fed the feeling of their masters' thoughts, 
And every sweetness that inspired their hearts, 
Their minds, and muses on admired themes ; 



If these had made one poem's period, 
And all combined in beauty's worthiness, 
Yet there should hover in their restless heads 
One thought, one grace, one wonder, at the least, 
Which into words no virtue can digest." 2 

40. If Marlowe had not died, as he did, before he was 
thirty, how great might he, in your opinion, have become ? 

[41. What power had Marlowe, not possessed by Greene, Lyly, or 
any of his other contemporaries, which made his work greater than 
theirs ? 

42. In what way may Marlowe's heroes, and Marlowe himself, be 
considered typical of the men of the Elizabethan age ? 

1 iv, 1, 1-7. 2 l Tamburlaine, v, 1. 






DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA 99 

43. Show how Marlowe changed the condition of the drama in 
regard to each of the matters treated in topics 19-22. 

44. Why has Marlowe been called " the father of English dramatic 
poetry" ? x 

45. What are the elements, so far as you can discover them, of 
Marlowe's greatness as a dramatist ?] 

46. Does anything in The Jew of Malta remind you of 
anything in one of Shakespeare's plays ? 

47. What kinds of plays were enjoyed by the audience for 
which Shakespeare was to write? Judge from the plays 
they had already approved, from the national character, 
and from the tastes your study of the period has led you 
to infer in them. What kind of humor would they laugh 
at ? Characterize the plots they might be expected to 
appreciate. Would they like realism, or strange, romantic 
happenings ? How would the tastes of the audience affect 
the work of the playwrights ? 

48. How was the time ripe for the coming of a great 
dramatist ? In your answer, take into account the audience, 
the actors, and the material available for plots. 

[Take into account also dramatic traditions, and meter.] 

Essay Subjects 

1. Life of a typical man of the Elizabethan age. 

Choose a real man. Would Jonson, Marlowe, Bacon, Sidney, or Raleigh 
be most nearly typical ? 

2. Dramatic entertainments in great houses in the time 
of Elizabeth. 

3. Effects on the Elizabethan drama of the patronage of 
the court. 

[4. The evolution of Shakespeare's audience. 

1 Symonds, J. A.: Shakespeare's Predecessors. 



100 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

5. Facts about the production of Shakespeare's plays that were 
determined by the mechanical conditions of the playhouses. 

6. The conditions of the life of the actors as affecting the charac- 
teristics of the plays they produced.] 

7. The life of Greene, as typical of the lives of the 
group of playwrights to which he belonged. 

[8. The beginnings of realism in the English drama. 

9. Blank verse as a medium for the drama. 
10. Tragedy and comedy distinguished. 
See Ward, vol. i, pp. 158 if. ; Gayley : Plays of Our Forefathers, pp. 144 f.] 

11. Compare the tastes of the American playgoers of 
to-day with those of Shakespeare's audience. 

12. The personality of Marlowe. 

13. Marlowe as "the personification of V amour de Vim- 
possible." 1 

14. Is the Marlowe of Miss Peabody's play, in your 
opinion, a true representation of the real Marlowe? 

See Peabody, J. P.: Marlowe : A Drama. Houghton. 

15. A comparison of Marlowe's three heroes. 

[16. The influence of Marlowe upon the development of the drama. 

17. The possible career of Marlowe, if he had lived.] 

Dialogues : 

18. Greene's deathbed repentance. 

19. Marlowe's death. 
Several scenes, with plot. 

20. Marlowe giving advice to his fellow-dramatists. 

Monologues in the style of Marlowe : 

21. Nero, while Rome is burning. 

22. Achilles, after the death of Patroclus. 

23. Napoleon at Moscow, or at St. Helena. 

1 Symonds. 



CHAPTER VIII 

SHAKESPEARE 

" I cannot recollect that any book, any man, any incident of my life, 
has produced such important effects on me as the precious works to which 
by your kindness I have been directed. They seem as if they were per- 
formances of some celestial genius, descending among men, to make them, 
by the mildest instructions, acquainted with themselves. They are no 
fictions! You would think, while reading them, you stood before the 
unclosed awful Books of Fate, while the whirlwind of most impassioned 
life was howling through the leaves, and tossing them fiercely to and fro. 
The strength and tenderness, the power and peacefulness of this man 
have so astonished and transported me that I long vehemently for the 
time when I shall have it in my power to read further." 

— Goethe: Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Carlyle's Translation. 

Bibliography 

I. Editions of the Plays 

The editions are, of course, very numerous. Those given are chosen 
for their adaptation to the use of students. 

The Globe edition. Edited by W. G. Clark and W. A. Wright. 
London and New York : Macmillan. 

This edition has the great advantage of presenting the complete 
works in one easily handled volume. The print is fine, but is less so 
in the American reprint. The numbering of scenes and lines of this 
edition is that generally used in making references. 

Kolfe, W. J. : New York : Harper. Revised edition, American 
Book Company. 

Each play is issued in a separate volume, with valuable introduc- 
tions and notes. The first edition included well-chosen extracts from 
critical writings dealing with the play. These are not included in the 
revised edition. Other editions convenient for school use are those of 

101 



102 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Hudson (Ginn) ; TJie Arden Shakespeare (Heath) ; Clarendon Press 
Series of English Classics, edited by W. A. Wright (Oxford: Claren- 
don Press) ; Riverside Shakespeare (Houghton) . 

Furness, H. H. : A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare. Phila- 
delphia. 

Gives various readings, with discussion. Contains valuable quota- 
tions from critics, or summaries of their opinions and arguments, thus 
presenting the different views on each point. The volumes issued up 
to 1909 are : Borneo and Juliet ; Macbeth ; Hamlet (2 vols.) ; King 
Lear; Othello; The Merchant of Venice; As You Like It; The 
Tempest ; The Winter's Tale ; A Midsummer Night's Dream ; Much 
Ado About Nothing ; Twelfth Night; Lovers Labor's Lost ; Antony ■ 
and Cleopatra ; Richard the Third. 

II. Books of Beference 

Abbott, E. A. : Shakespearian Grammar. London : Macmilian. 
1871. 

Bartlett, J. : New and Complete Concordance to Dramatic Works 
(and Poems) of Shakespeare. London and New York: Macmilian. 
1894. 

Dyer, T. F. T. : Folk-lore of Shakespeare. London : Griffith and 
Furran ; New York : Harper. 1884. 

Schmidt, A. : Shakespeare-Lexiqon. Third edition, revised and 
enlarged by G. Sarrazin. Berlin : Reimer. 1902. 

The authority on the meaning of Shakespeare's words. To know 
the exact meaning a word carried in that day, often illuminates the 
sense of a crucial passage. 

III. Biography 

Dowden, E. : Shakespeare Primer. New York : American Book 
Company. 

Sane, concise, simple. Gives facts about both life and works. 
Excellent manual for students. 

Lee, S. : Life of William Shakespeare. London : Macmilian. 
1898. Abridged, 1899. 

The authoritative life at present. Based on the article on Shake- 
speare by Mr. Lee in the Dictionary of National Biography. 



SHAKESPEARE 103 



Rolfe, W. J. : Shakespeare the Boy. New York : Harper. 

Gives details about the environment of Shakespeare in his boyhood 
and about his education. 

Dowden, E. : Shakespeare: Sis Mind and Art. London: Paul. 
1880. 

A sane and penetrating account of Shakespeare's mental life and of 
the periods of his work as a dramatist. 

IV. Illustrative Pictures 

Norris, J. P. : The Portraits of Shakespeare. Philadelphia : Lind- 
say. 1885. 

Garnett and Gosse : Pictorial History of English Literature. Yol. ii. 

Lee, S. : Stratford on Avon. London: Seeley. New edition. 1902. 

Large folio, with beautiful illustrations. 

Leyland, J. : The Shakespeare Country. Enlarged edition. 1903. 
London : Offices of Country Life. 

The Comedies of William Shakespeare. With many drawings by 
E. A. Abbey. New York: Harper. 1896. 

Abbey's illustrations of different plays may be found in volumes of 
Harper's Monthly. 

V. Fiction 

Landor, W. S. : Citation and Examination of William Shakespeare 
before Sir Thomas Lucy, touching Deer-stealing. Works. London : 
Chapman and Hall. 1896. Vol. ii. 

Lamb, C. and M. : Tales from Shakespeare. Philadelphia : Lip- 
pincott. 1895. Illustrated. Many other editions. 

Bennett, J. : Master Skylark. New York : Century. 1897. 

Black, W. : Judith Shakespeare. New York : Harper. 1884 ; or 
Library edition, illustrated by E. A. Abbey. New York : Harper. 

VI. Criticism (For the Teacher) 

Bagehot, W. : "Shakespeare the Man," in Literary Studies. Lon- 
don : Longmans ; New York : McClure. Also printed separately. 
McClure. 1901. 

Baker, G. P. : The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist. 
New York : Macmillan. 1907. 



104 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Brandes, G. : William Shakespeare. Translated by W. Archer, 
D. White, and M. Morison. New York: Macmillan. 1898. 

Broad and suggestive, but fallacious. 

Carlyle, T. : "The Hero as Poet," Heroes and Hero Worship, 
ch. iii. Works. Edited by H. D. Traill. New York : Scribner. 
1896-1899. Centenary edition. Vol. v. 

Coleridge, S. T. : Lectures and Notes upon Shakespeare. London : 
Bell. 1883. Bohrfs Standard Library. 

Corson, H. : Introduction to Shakespeare. Boston: Heath. 1889. 

De Quincey, T. : "Shakespeare," in Literary Essays. Works. 
Edited by D. Masson. Edinburgh : Black. 1889-1890. Vol. iv. 

Dowden, E. : Shakespeare: His Mind and Art.. London: Paul. 
1880. New York: Harper. 1881. 

Emerson, R. W. : " Shakespeare ; or, the Poet," in Representative 
Men. Boston : Houghton. 

Hazlitt, W. : Characters of Shakespeare" 1 s Plays. Edited by W. C. 
Hazlitt. London: Bell. 1873. 

Hudson, H. N. : Shakespeare, His Life, Art, and Characters. 
2 vols. Boston ; Ginn. 1872. 

Ingleby, C. M., compiler : Shakespeare^ s Centurie of Pray se. Lon- 
don : Triibner. 1874. 

Johnson, S. : Preface to his edition of the Plays. 

Lamb, C. : "On the Tragedies of Shakespeare," in Essays and 
Sketches. Poems, Plays, and Miscellaneous Essays. Edited by 
A. Ainger. London : Macmillan. 1884. 

Lounsbury, T. R. : Shakespearean Wars. New York : Scribner. 
1901-1906. 

Lowell, J. R. : "Shakespeare once More," in Literary Essays, 
vol. iii. 

Moulton, R. G. : Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Oxford. 
Clarendon Press. 1889. 

Shakespeare as a Dramatic Thinker. New York: Mac- 
millan. 1907. 

Raleigh, W. A. : Shakespeare. London and New York : Macmillan. 
1907. English Men of Letters Series. 

Smith, D. N, editor : Eighteenth Century Essays on Shakespeare. 
Glasgow : Maclehose. 1903. 

Taine, H. A. : History of English Literature. Translated by H. van 
Laun. New York: Holt. 1873. Bk. II, ch. iv. 



SHAKESPEARE 105 

Reading 

To the Teacher. — As many plays as possible should be read; and at 
least four plays, one from each period of the development of Shakespeare, 
should be carefully studied. Those suggested here not only represent the 
stages of development, but include examples of the three broad divisions 
of the Elizabethan drama — comedy, history, and tragedy. Each play 
should be read through before it is discussed in class. Study of the play 
as a whole — its plot, significance, characters, sources — should precede 
any study of details. Let each student read at least one play besides 
the four assigned and report on it to the class. Reports may include brief 
outlines of plot ; facts regarding the date of composition and the sources ; 
comment, varying with the play ; and the reading of extracts. Students 
should be encouraged to read other plays, and to see Shakespearian plays 
on the stage whenever opportunity offers. The acting of selected scenes 
by members of the class is of great importance. Scenes adapted to this 
purpose are : 

a. A Midsummer Night's Dream : v, 1, 108-354. 

b. Hamlet : i, 4. 

c. The Merchant of Venice : iv, 1. 

d. Macbeth : ii, 1, 31 — scene 2. 

e. Othello: i, 3, 1-301. 

Parts should be memorized, and plenty of time should be devoted to in- 
dividual drill and general rehearsal, so that each actor may understand 
his part, and may interpret it successfully through voice, expression, bear- 
ing, and action ; and so that both actors and spectators may get a sense 
of the scene and of the plays in general as something acted, rather than 
read. Throughout the study of Shakespeare, it is necessary to guard 
against the adoption by students of conventional estimates. If it is 
necessary to omit one of the four plays, King Henry V or Hamlet 
should be left out, according to the tastes and degree of maturity of 
the students. 

" Let him that is yet unacquainted with the powers of Shakespeare, and 
who desires to feel the highest pleasure that the drama can give, read 
every play from the first scene to the last, with utter negligence of all his 
commentators. . . . Let him read on through brightness and obscurity, 
through integrity and corruption ; let him preserve his comprehension of 
the dialogue and his interest in the fable. And when the pleasures of 
novelty have ceased, let him attempt exactness ; and read his com- 
mentators." 

— Johnson, S. : Preface to his edition of Shakespeare's Plays. 



106 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

As you read, collect for your notebook 

" Jewels five-words-long 
That on the stretch' d forefinger of all Time 
Sparkle forever." 

— Tennyson: The Princess. 
Read all the following : 

A Midsummer Night's Dream Hamlet 

King Henry V The Tempest 

Sonnets xxix, xxx, xxxiii, xlvii, lxxiii, ex, cxi, cxvi. 
Read at least one of the following : 
First period: Third period : 

Lovers Labor's Lost Macbeth 

The Two Gentlemen of Verona King Lear 

Borneo and Juliet Othello 

Second period : Antony and Cleopatra 

As You Like It Fourth period : 

The Merchant of Venice The Winter's Tale 

Twelfth Night Cymbeline 

Much Ado about Nothing King Henry VIII 

King John 

Julius Ccesar 

Memory Passages 

King Henry V : iii, 1, 1-34. 

Hamlet: iii, 1, 56-87. 

TJie Tempest: iv, 1, 148-158. 

Sonnets cxvi, xxx, lxxiii. 

Besides these passages, commit to memory others you personally 
admire. 

Among the rather numerous portraits of Shakespeare, choose for 
your notebook one that is well authenticated, characteristic, and faith- 
fully reproduced in your copy. You have here a challenge to your judg- 
ment. 

Life of Shakespeare 

To the Teacher. — Class work upon the life of Shakespeare should make 
the facts not only familiar, but as vivid, reasonable, and real as if they 
had happened to a neighbor. A later recitation might be given to an 
attempt to conceive Shakespeare's character. 






SHAKESPEARE 107 

Boyhood 

1. Beport : Stratford ; given, if possible, by a student who 
has been there. Use pictures freely. Describe the country 
about the town, the Avon, the church and churchyard, the 
house where Shakespeare was born, the guild house. 

2. Shakespeare at home. 

a. His father : occupation, standing, character. 
See Raleigh, ch. ii. 

b. His mother : family, property, character. 

c. His brothers and sisters. 

d. The house. 

3. Shakespeare at school. 

a. The school building. 

b. The course of study. 

c. Time Shakespeare spent there. 

4. How did Shakespeare's schooling compare in kind and 
amount with that of his fellow-dramatists ? Did his educa- 
tion stop when he left school ? 

[Judging from one of his first plays, Love's Labor's Lost, did he feel 
it a deprivation that he left school early ?] 

5. Shakespeare out of doors: With what sort of scenery 
was he surrounded ? Did he notice animals ? Flowers ? Give 
detailed information. 

See Halleck : Education of the Central Nervous System, chapter x, 
"How Shakespeare's Senses were Trained. " 

6. Shakespeare at play : What games did boys play then ? 
What shows may he have seen ? What tales were people 
telling ? What kinds of people and what occupations may he 
have watched ? 



108 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Youth 

7. Helping his father : How did this part of his life 
contribute to his development ? 

8. His marriage : Was it prudent, considering his age 
and prospects ? Can you decide whether the marriage was a 
happy one ? 

9. Eecreations as a young man: "Was Shakespeare a 
" wild " youth ? What do you think about the reliability of 
the poaching story ? 

10. Going up to London : Why did he go? What does the 
action show about Shakespeare's character ? 

Apprenticeship 

11. Eeport: The London of Shakespeare's day — size, 
plan, streets, houses, interests, society. 

For map, see references on p. 55. 

12. Shakespeare's first years in London: What do we 
really know about this period of his life ? What else can 
we be pretty sure about ? 

13. Shakespeare as an actor : What roles do we know him 
to have acted ? What did his contemporaries say of his 
acting ? In what ways would his being an actor help him in 
his career as a dramatist ? 

14. First attempts as a writer of plays : revision ; collabo- 
ration (?) ; earliest independent work. 

Manhood 

15. What does this extract from Greene's Groatsworth of 
Wit bought with a Million of Repentance , written in 1590 or 
1591, show about Shakespeare's success before that date ? 

" Yes, trust them [players] not : For there is an upstart Crow 
beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers heart wrapped in a 



SHAKESPEARE 109 

Players hide, 1 supposes he is as well able to bumbast out a blank 
verse as the best of you : and being an absolute Johannes fac to turn, 
is in his owne conceit the onley Shake-scene in a countrie. " 

16. Adduce proofs of Shakespeare's growing success as a 
playwright. 

17. Social life in London : Eelations with actors, men of 
letters, men of rank ; the Mermaid. 

18. Eeport : The actors Shakespeare knew — Burbage, 
Kemp, Heminge, Condell. 

19. Eeport: Shakespeare's other friends — Southampton, 
and Shakespeare's relations with him ; others. 

20. Summons to act at court : Date of first summons ; fre- 
quency of such honors. 

21. Find out the facts relating to the following aspects 
of Shakespeare's business affairs, and draw conclusions as to 
Shakespeare as a man of business. 

a. Financial success of his professional activity. 

b. Sources of his income. 

c. Investments. 

d. Income toward the close of his life. 

22. The " dark lady " — was she a real person ? 
See Lee, chapters vii-x. 

23. Tell the story of the Shakespeare coat of arms. Ex- 
plain Shakespeare's course of action. 

24. Why, do you think, did Shakespeare stop writing and 
retire to Stratford, about five years before his sudden death 
at fifty-two ? 

" His retirement to Stratford, when regarded in its various lights, is the 
most revealing phase of his life." 2 

i-This refers to a line in 3 Henry VI, found also in the True Tragedy of 
Richard Duke of York, upon which 3 Henry VI was based. 

2 Munger, T. T. : " Shakespeare of Warwickshire," Atlantic Monthly, 



110 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

25. How did Shakespeare come into contact with each of 
the stimulating forces of the sixteenth century ? 

26. Emerson writes : " Other admirable men have led lives 
in some sort of keeping with their thought ; but this man 
in wide contrast. 7 ' x Do you agree with Emerson ? 

27. Make a table of three columns, one column for his- 
torical events, one for facts in Shakespeare's career as a 
dramatist, and the third for facts connected with other 
dramas and with literature in general. For facts for the 
first and third columns, see table on pp. 58 ff. ; for facts 
for the other column, see Dowden's Shakespeare Primer, 
Lee's Life of Shakespeare, or some other reliable source. 
There is much guesswork in many books about Shakespeare. 

Character of Shakespeare 

28. Report: Shakespeare's personal appearance. Draw 
conclusions from the different portraits, reproductions of 
which should be exhibited to the class, and from the testi- 
mony of contemporaries. Judging from his looks alone, what 
sort of man should you suppose Shakespeare was ? 

29. Make what inferences you can as to Shakespeare's 
character from the facts of his life. Consider especially : 

a. His marriage. 

b. His going up to London. 

c. His gaining a foothold there. 

d. His career as actor ; as playwright ; as business 

man ; as member of society. 

e. His father's application for a coat of arms. 
/. His retirement to Stratford. 

g. His relations with his family. 

30. Compare Shakespeare with his fellow-dramatists in 
life and character. 

1 " Shakespeare: or, the Poet," in Representative Men. 



SHAKESPEARE 111 

31. What light is thrown upon Shakespeare's character 
by the following references to him ? 

a. "He was a handsome, well-shap't man: very good company, 
and of a very readie and pleasant smooth witt." 1 

b. " Gentle Shakespeare." 2 

c. "I loved the man and do honor his memory on this side idolatry, 
as much as any. He was, indeed, honest, and of an open and free 
nature." 3 

d. " The other, [Shakespeare] whom at that time I did not so much 
spare, as since I wish I had. ... I am as sory, as if the originall 
fault had been my fault, because myself e have seene his demeanor no 
lesse civile than he excelent in the qualitie 4 he professes ; besides, 
divers of worship have reported his uprightness of dealing, which 
argues his honesty, and his facetious grace in writing, that approves 
his art." 5 

e. " Every one who had a true taste of merit, and could distinguish 
men, had generally a just value and esteem for him. His exceeding 
candor and good-nature must certainly have inclined all the gentler 
part of the world to love him." 6 

/. "Many were the Wet-combats betwixt him [Shakespeare] and 
Ben Jonson ; which two I behold like a Spanish great Galleon and an 
English Man-of-War ; Master Jonson (like the former) was built far 
higher in Learning ; solid, but slow, in his performances. Shakespeare, 
with the English-Man-of-War, lesser in bulk, but lighter in sailing, 
could turn with all tides, tack about, and take advantage of all winds, 
by the quickness of his Wit and Invention." 7 

Compare Beaumont's lines : 

" What things have we seen 
Done at the Mermaid ! Heard words that have been 

1 Aubrey, J. : Brief Lives. 

2 Epithet often applied to Shakespeare by his contemporaries. 

3 Ben Jonson. Timber. 

4 Qualitie, i.e. profession, that of actor. 

5 Chettle, H. : Kind-Harts Dream. He is supposed to refer to the 
fact that he printed Greene's Groatsworth of Wit, which contained the 
words about Shakespeare quoted on pp. 108 f . 

6 Some Account of the Life of William Shakespeare. 

7 Fuller, T. : The Worthies of England. 



112 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

So nimble, and so full of subtle flame, 
As if that every one from whence they came 
Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest, 
And had resolved to live a fool the rest 
Of his dull life. " 1 

32. Shakespeare is universally acknowledged to have been 
one of the greatest men who ever lived. Are there discov- 
erable causes that helped to make him so ? If so, what are 
they ? Or was his greatness entirely a matter of natural en- 
dowment ? If so, in what qualities did the greatness consist ? 

33. How did this genius differ from other men ? Did he 
exemplify the saying: 

" Genius is sure to madness near allied, 
And thin partitions do their bounds divide ? " 2 

Was he different from other men in kind or in degree ? 

A Midsummer NighVs Dream 

34. In explanation of the title — 

a. Describe the celebration of Midsummer Eve in 

Elizabethan England. 
Consult Dyer. (See p. 102.) 

b. Show in what respects the play is like a dream. 

35. The different sets of characters : Why are they put 
together in this play? 

36. The different threads of the plot : In what ways is 
the whole unified ? 

37. Indicate by diagrams, or, if you prefer, by sentences, 
the feelings of the lovers at the different stages of the plot. 

38. When you first read the play, what impression, if 
any, did you receive about the fickleness and treachery it 
implies ? Account for your state of feeling. 

1 Letter to Ben Jonson. 2 Dryden : Absalom and Achitophel. 



SHAKESPEARE 113 

39. Do the Athenians of the play seem to you like the 
Greeks of history ? Does Shakespeare ascribe to the time 
of Theseus any customs or institutions that did not come 
into existence till a later age ? Particularize. 

[40. With which of the following criticisms do you agree ? Support 
your opinion. 

a. " The hand that wrought that fairy picture, and introduced 
into it a company of illiterate workmen, without shocking the ideal 
— what would he not have accomplished had he further isolated his 
enchantments from the external world ? " * 

b. "The introduction of these vulgar and unmannerly boors into 
that gossamer life does not lessen the sense of reality ; on the contrary, 
it intensifies it. ' ' 2 ] 

41. Characterize the workmen : Are they Greek work- 
men ? Where did Shakespeare find his models ? Are they 
bright ? When they are funny, do they intend to be so ? 
How much do they understand about plays and acting? 
Are they conscious of any deficiencies ? How do they feel 
toward those above them in rank ? 

42. Should you infer from Shakespeare's representation 
of the workmen that he had observed such people closely ? 

43. Eeport : Popular beliefs about fairies, elves, etc. 
See Dyer. 

44. How do Shakespeare's fairies differ from human 
beings ? 

[45. Can you see any reasons why Shakespeare should have chosen, 
for the play within the play, the tale of Py ramus and Thisbe ? 
46. Sources of the plot : 

a. What hints did Shakespeare take from Chaucer ? 

b. Where did he find Oberon ? 

1 Halliwell-Phillips : A Few Observations on the Composition of the 
Midsummer Night's Dream. 

2 SkeltoD, J. : " Early English Life in the Drama." 



114 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

c. Where did he find the flower juice ? 

d. Of what classic stories did he make use ? 

47. What devices that Shakespeare had used before are employed 
in this play ? 

Only for students who have read one or more of the earlier plays. 
See page 106.] 

48. Under what theatrical conditions was the play origi- 
nally given ? Why is it rarely given now ? 

49. What external evidence is there as to the date of the 
play? 

50. What passages give ns some gronnd for suppos- 
ing that the play may have been acted before Queen 
Elizabeth ? 

51. Judging from .the play alone, what kind of man was 
the author, in regard to — 

a. Age. 

b. State of health. 

c. Power of observation. 

d. Development of the senses. 

e. Habitual mood. 
Prove each point. 

[52. If Shakespeare had died immediately after writing A 3Iid- 
sitmmer Night" 1 s Dream, should we have known what we had lost ? 
What powers had he proved himself to possess ?] 

53. Decide what passages you think most beautiful, and 
copy them into your notebook. 

[In what does the beauty consist ?] 

54. What kind of man must he have been, who wrote in 
his diary of A Midsummer Night's Dream, "It is the most 
insipid, ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life" ? l 

1 Pepys, S. : Diary and Correspondence. 



SHAKESPEARE 115 

King Henry V 

To the Teacher. — While the students are reading the play out of class, 
a recitation may be given to Prince Hal. Let a student report upon what 
he does, and what kind of youth he seems to be, in the two parts of 
King Henry IV. Let another student report on Falstaff. Certain scenes 
from King Henry IV might be read in class, different students taking 
the parts. The following scenes are recommended : 

1 King Henry IV, i, 2; ii, 2; 4, 1-40, 120-312. 

2 King Henry IV, iv, 5. 

55. There has been considerable discussion as to whether 

it is good psychology to represent King Henry V as so 

different from Prince Hal. Is he really different ? If so, 

how? Shakespeare represents several other characters as 

suddenly changing their nature completely. 

Oliver in As you Like It, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 
Antonio in The Tempest. 

Are such transformations natural ? Can you point out 
instances in history or biography ? If not, can you explain 
Shakespeare's course in some other way? Gervinus believes 
the whole interest of the play to lie in the development of 
the ethical character of the hero. 1 Do you agree with him ? 

56. There are several theories about the character of 
Henry V: that he is Shakespeare's ideal man, or at least 
Shakespeare's ideal man of the active, practical type ; that 
he is Shakespeare himself; and that he is merely the most 
popular English king that Shakespeare could depict for an 
English audience. What is your opinion ? A few of the 
interpretations follow : 

a. " Without doubt Henry of Monmouth is to be regarded as the 
grand hero of the Shakespearean world. . . . Wise counselors of the 
King — not speaking in the presence, which might suggest flattery, but 
in secret conference with one another, indicate the universal genius of 
Henry." 2 

1 Shakespeare Commentaries. 

2 Moulton, R. G. : Shakespeare as a Dramatic Thinker. 



116 STUDY BOOK Itf ENGLISH LITERATURE 

b. " The moral hero." * 

c. " Henry V is Shakespeare's ideal of highest manhood." 2 

d. u The manly, open character of the king, and his splendid vic- 
tories over the French, made him a kind of symbol of England's great- 
ness, both in character and in achievement." 3 

57. What was the character of the historical Henry V ? 
Is the Henry of the play an accurate representation ? 

[58. Is there one plot running through the whole play ? What dis- 
tinct episodes are presented ? Account for the fundamental difference 
in the structure of the plot of this drama and that of A Midsummer 
Night's Dream.'] 

59. What are the sources of humor in the play ? 

60. Why do you suppose Shakespeare introduced ITuellen* 
Janiy, and Macmorris ? 

61. How do we know the date of composition ? 

[62. Compare this play with A Midsummer Night's Dream in 
respect to — 

a. Management of the plot. c. Though tfulness. 

b. Character-drawing. d. Style. 

63. In what ways had Shakespeare developed since he had written 
the earlier play ? 

64. What characteristics has the play which would tend to make it 
popular with Shakespeare's original audience ? Was it actually pop- 
ular ? How do we know ?] 

65. Point out ways in which the patriotism of English- 
men is appealed to in the play. 

E.g., passages, characters, events, attitude toward France. 

[QQ. Choose several adjectives which in your opinion describe the 
blank verse of King Henry V. ] 

67. Many educated Englishmen confess that their knowl- 
edge of English history is derived chiefly from Shake 

1 Moulton, R. G. : Shakespeare as a Dramatic Thinker. 

2 Griffiths, L. M. : Evenings with Shakespeare. 3 Moody and Lovett. 



SHAKESPEARE 117 

speare's historical plays. Is this state of things desirable ? 

How true to history is this play ? What feeling would it 

instill toward England ? How living are its figures ? 

Would it be remembered better or less well than text-book 

history ? 

Hamlet 

"He [Shakespeare] is our finest achievement; his plays our noblest 
possession ; the things in the world most worth thinking about. To live 
daily in his company, to study his works with minute and loving care . . . 
this might have been expected to produce great intellectual if not moral 
results." — A. Birrell : Obiter Dicta. 

To the Teacher. — While the students are reading the play, certain 
scenes might be read aloud in class by the teacher, who, by intonations, 
and, where absolutely necessary, by explanation, could clarify and inten- 
sify appreciation of the play. Scenes that especially need such inter- 
pretation, or that bear closely on the great problems of the play, are 
these: i, 1; ii, 2, 85-312; iii, 1, 55 to end; iii, 2, 87 to end; iii, 4. 

Pope said, "Had all the Speeches been printed without the very names 
of the Persons, I believe one might have applied them with certainty to 
every speaker." 1 Test this in class reading, after the characters have 
become somewhat familiar to the class. 

68. What is the point of the proverbial expression 
"Hamlet with Hamlet left out"? 

69. Informal class debate on the question : Was Hamlet 
mad? 

To the Teacher. — Let the pupils choose sides and make speeches, the 
two sides alternating. Speakers should either present as convincingly 
as possible one line of argument for their own side, or try to refute one 
argument that has been presented by an opponent. 

The following questions may suggest lines of discussion : 

a. What are the tests of madness ? 

b. What does Hamlet do or say that seems mad ? 

c. Had anything occurred that might have affected his 

sanity ? 

1 Preface to his edition of the Plays. 



118 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

d. Had he any reason for feigning madness ? 

e. What do the other characters of the play think about 

the question ? 
/. Does Hamlet show power to think ? 
g. What does he say about his own behavior ? 
h. What is the opinion of alienists upon the problem ? 
i. Just what does their opinion prove ? 

70. If Hamlet's uncle was guilty, was it Hamlet's duty 
to kill him ? 

71. Piecing together references to time, decide how much 
time passes after the ghost says to Hamlet, 

" If thou didst ever thy dear father love, 
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder," 

before the revenge is actually carried out. Explain the 
delays. 

72. How are Hamlet's speech and actions toward each of 
the following characters peculiar? What impressions about 
Hamlet might each be expected to receive ? What did each 
actually think ? Why might Hamlet desire to create each 
of these impressions ? 

a. Polonius. . d. Horatio. 

b. Eosencrantz and Guildenstern. e. Gertrude. 

c. Ophelia. /. The King. 
[73. There follow several of the most important opinions upon the 

character of Hamlet. 

a. Goethe, in the famous passage in Wilhelm Meister's Apprentice- 
ship, says: "To me it is clear that Shakespeare meant ... to repre- 
sent the effects of a great action laid upon a soul unfit for the perform- 
ance of it. In this view the whole piece seems to me to be composed. 
There is an oak-tree planted in a costly jar, which should have borne 
only pleasant flowers in its bosom ; the roots expand, the jar is 
shivered." 

b. Schlegel, the famous German dramatic critic, writes, " The whole 
is intended to show that a calculating consideration, which exhausts 



SHAKESPEARE 119 

all the relations and possible consequences of a deed, must cripple the 
power of acting." 1 

With this opinion Coleridge practically agrees. 

c. A recent text-book gives a strong expression to the widely 
different view held by many, calling Hamlet "a supremely rational, 
competent, and determined being." 2 

d. Here is another recent view : "The sensitive, affectionate, im- 
pulsive character of Hamlet. . . . We see him achieving [his revenge] 
in spite of almost infinite reluctance. ' ' 3 

e. Professor Dowden says, " He is not incapable of vigorous action, 
if only he be allowed no chance of thinking the fact away into an 
idea." 4 

/. Still another explanation is this : " They have done him wrong 
who have called him undecided. His penetration was like light ; his 
decision like the Fates' ; he merely left undone." 5 

Discuss each of these opinions with constant reference to the play. 
Finally write down your own conception of the character. ] 

74. Was Gertrude accessory to the murder ? 

75. What sort of girl was Ophelia ? Do you agree with 
either of the opinions that follow ? 

a. " Ophelia, — poor Ophelia ! Oh, far too soft, too good, too fair 
to be cast among the briers of this working-day world, and fall and 
bleed upon the thorns of life ! " 6 

b. " Among all the principal figures in Shakespeare's plays, there 
is only one weak woman — Ophelia ; and it is because she fails Hamlet 
at the critical moment, and is not, and cannot in her nature be, a guide 
to him when he needs her most, that all the bitter catastrophe follows." 7 

76. Explain Hamlet's conduct toward Ophelia. 

77. Explain the character of Polonius. How should the 
part be acted ? Take into account especially — 

1 Dramatic Art and Literature. 2 Moody 'and Lovett. 

3 Lewis, C. M.: The Genesis of Hamlet. 

4 Shakespeare : His Mind and Art. 

5 White, R. G. : Studies in Shakespeare. 

6 Mrs. Jameson : Characteristics of Shakespeare's Women. 

7 Ruskin, J. : Sesame and Lilies. 



120 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

a. Act iij scene 2. 

b. Act iii, scene 3, last part. 

c. His speeches to the King about Hamlet. 

d. His advice to Laertes. 

e. His forgetfulness. 

f. His manner with Hamlet. 

[78. What is the importance of Horatio in the play ? 

79. Describe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Goethe says, 
" Shakespeare showed no little wisdom and discernment in bring- 
ing in a pair of them. " l Why should he say this ? 

80. Compare Laertes with Hamlet. What special office has Laertes 
in the play ? 

81. In what earlier play, of which we have learned something, is 
there a play within the play like the " mouse-trap " ? How common 
was this device in Shakespeare's time ? 

82. Relate the history of the plot of Hamlet. From what sources 
did Shakespeare draw directly ? Were there any parts of the old 
story that Shakespeare was obliged, by the tastes of his audience, to 
incorporate in his version ? 

See Lewis, C. M. : The Genesis of Hamlet. Holt. 1907. 

83. When was the first edition of Hamlet published ? How does 
this version differ from all others ? Do you think that the second 
quarto was a revised edition, or that the first was an imperfect copy, 
because pirated ? Why did dramatists in that day try to keep plays 
from being printed ? 

84. ' ' The first three acts appear to be exceedingly beautiful ; but 
I will frankly confess that the last two, no longer filled with Hamlet 
himself, seemed to me extremely tedious." 2 Do you agree with the 
French critic ? 

85. Dowden 3 suggests the terms " puzzle " and " mystery " ; and 
says that one of these applies to the play of Hamlet. Which term, do 
you suppose, does he apply thus, and which does he consider inappro- 
priate to the play ? 

80. Find a quotation from the play which shall express its key- 
note, or leading thought. 

1 Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. 2 Le Maitre, J. 

3 Shakespeare : His Mind and Art. 



SHAKESPEARE 121 

87. Show how this play differs from the earlier plays we have 
read — 

a. In nature of subject. d. In complexity of characters, 

b. In depth of thought. e. In drawing of minor characters. 

c. In structure of plot. /. In style. 

88. How is the Shakespeare who wrote Hamlet different from the 
young author of A Midsummer Night's Dream ? Can you account for 
the changes ? Do you believe in the so-called " dark period" in his 
life ? If so, explain its causes, point out its manifestations in this 
play, and tell how Shakespeare came out of it. If not, disprove its 
existence. 

89. There has been more discussion about Hamlet than about any 
other of Shakespeare's plays ; why should this be so ? 

90. Why has Hamlet proved so good an acting play ?] 

The Tempest 

91. What is the final object of all Prosperous plans? 
Show how each event he brings about is calculated to help 
toward his ultimate purpose. 

92. Can you think of any other play in which Shake- 
speare puts into human hands the forces that bring about 
the outcome of the plot ? Compare the state of things 
here with that in Hamlet; with that in A Midsummer Night's 
Dream; with that in any of the following plays with which 
you are familiar : King Richard III, Romeo and Jidiet, 
TJie Taming of the Shreiv, Much Ado About Nothing, King 
Lear. Account for any difference in the amount of power 
ascribed to human agencies. 

93. Explain the part played in working out the plot by 
each of the following characters : 

a. Prospero. /. Antonio. 

b. Ariel. g. Sebastian. 

c. Miranda. h. Trinculo and Stephano. 

d. Ferdinand. i. Caliban. 

e. Alonso. 



122 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

94. Describe the character of Prospero. Why is he 
given just such traits as he has ? 

95. How does he differ from the magicians about whom 
stories were common in those days : Michael Scott, Simon 
Magus, Cornelius Agrippa ? 

96. How is the character of Miranda in keeping with her 
bringing up ? 

97. Do you consider Ferdinand to be worthy of her ? 

98. How long a period is covered by the events of the 
play ? How does the time compare with that in other plays 
of Shakespeare which you have read ? 

99. " The whole story of The Tempest is really contained 
in this scene." x What scene, do you suppose, does Leigh 
Hunt proceed to quote? 

100. Is the seamanship of scene 1 correct ? 

[101. Compare the method Shakespeare used in introducing The 
Tempest and Hamlet with that he employed in beginning A Midsummer 
Nights Dream and King Henry V. 

102. Compare the fairy element of A Midsummer Night's Dream 
with that of The Tempest. Account for any difference. 

103. Explain Caliban — his nature, and his office in the play. How 
is the language put into his mouth appropriate to him ? 

" The character of Caliban is generally thought (and justly so) to be one 
of the author's masterpieces." 2 

104. Do you think Shakespeare believed in the form of society 
he makes Gonzalo describe in act ii, scene 1, lines 145 ff. ? Note 
(a) the talk of other characters about the theory ; (6) Gonzalo's pur- 
pose in talking ; (c) the character of Caliban ; (d) the whole trend 
of the play.] 

105. Collect from the play all the facts you can find 
about the island on which the scene is laid. Then arrange 

1 Imagination and Fancy. 

2 Hazlitt : Characters of Shakespeare's Plays. 



SHAKESPEARE 123 

them so as to be able to give an orderly description of the 
place. How was it suited to be the scene of the play ? Do 
you think Shakespeare thought of it as represented on the 
map ? Where did he get some of his details about the 
island ? 

[106. Choose from A Midsummer NighVs Dream and from The 
Tempest passages that illustrate the relative terseness, or compactness 
of expression, of the two plays. 

107. Choose from Hamlet and from The Tempest passages that 
seem to you to illustrate best the difference in temper or mood of the 
two plays. 

108. What does this play seem to indicate as to the mood of 
Shakespeare's last years ?] 

109. The Tempest has been called Shakespeare's farewell 
to the stage. How is this term appropriate ? 

General Topics 

"The intellectual measure of every man since horn, in the domains 
of creative thought, may be assigned to him according to the degree in 
which he has been taught by Shakespeare." — Ruskin, J,: in an Oxford 
lecture. 

[110. Choose an appropriate name for each of the four periods of 
Shakespeare's career as a dramatist. 

111. Make for your notebook a tabular outline of the characteris- 
tics of the four plays of Shakespeare which we have studied in detail 
as representing the four periods of his development. Consider the 
following topics, giving most of them subheads : 

a. Plot. d. Meter. 

b. Characterization. e. Mood. 

c. Style. /. Philosophy implied. 

There are several ways in which the table could be planned. See how 
shipshape in appearance and how clear in indicating comparisons you can 
make your own. 

112. What two points of view are illustrated in the following 
passages ? With which do you agree, and why ? 



124 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

a. " Art had so little, and nature so large a share in what he did, that 
for aught I know, the performances of his youth . . . were the best." * 
b. " Yet must I not give Nature all; thy Art, 
My gentle Shakespeare, must enjoy a part. 



For a good poet's made, as well as born. 
And such wert thou!" 2 
c. " Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child, 
Warble his native wood-notes wild." 3 

d. " Shakespear boasted a strong, fruitful Genius : He was natural 
and sublime, but had not so much as a single Spark of good Taste, or 
knew one Rule of the Drama." 4 

e. " Shakespeare's style is a compound of frenzied expressions. No man 
has submitted words to such a contortion. Mingled contrasts, tremendous 
exaggerations, apostrophes, exclamations, the whole fury of the ode, 
confusion of ideas, accumulation of images, the horrible and the divine, 
jumbled into the same line; it seems to my fancy as though he never 
writes a line without shouting it." 5 ] 

113. Do you agree with one, all, or none of the following 
opinions ? Give reasons for your opinion. 

a. "I cannot resist the impression that in the character of Jacques 
we have a good deal of his own." 6 

b. " Hamlet is Shakespeare." 7 

c. "It has been suggested that Prospero, the great enchanter, is 
Shakespeare himself." 8 

114. What playwrights were the rivals of Shakespeare 
during the later part of his active life ? Give some account 
of the life, work, and relative importance of each. Did 

1 Rowe : Some Account of the Life of William Shakespeare. 

2 Ben Jonson : To the Memory of my Beloved Master William Shake- 
speare, and what he hath left us. 

3 Milton : V Allegro. 

4 Voltaire : Letters concerning the English Nation. 
6 Taine: History of English Literature. 

6 Giles, H. : Human Life in Shakespeare. 

7 Taine: History of English Literature. 

8 Dowden, E. : Shakespeare Primer. 



SHAKESPEAEE 125 

Shakespeare seem as large a figure to his contemporaries as 
he does to us ? How did they feel about his plays ? 

See histories of literature, e.g., Brooke, Halleck, Moody and Lovett. 

[115. Give some account of the decline of the great drama.] 

To the Teacher. — Most classes should spend but little time upon the 
decline of the drama. The main figures and tendencies they should study 
briefly in text-books such as Moody and Lovett' s, both to gain a back- 
ground for Shakespeare, and to round out their knowledge of the Eliz- 
abethan drama. Individual students may be encouraged to read the 
dramas contained in Thayer's Best Elizabethan Plays. 

[116. How is our estimate of Shakespeare affected by comparing 
him with contemporary dramatists ?] 

Essay Subjects 

"The drama is a rigid form, limited to the two-hours' traffic of the 
stage. Just as the decorative artist has to fill the space assigned to him 
and must respect the dispositions of the architect, so the playwright must 
work his will within the requirements of the theater, turning to advantage 
the restrictions which he should not evade. He must always appeal to the 
eye as well as to the ear, never forgetting that the drama, while it is in 
one respect a department of literature, is in another a branch of the show 
business. He must devise stage settings at once novel, ingenious, and 
plausible ; and he must invent reasons for bringing together naturally the 
personages of his play in the single place where each of his acts passes. 
He must set his characters firm on their feet, each speaking for himself 
and revealing himself as he speaks ; for they need to have internal vitality, 
as they cannot be painted from the outside. He must see his creatures as 
well as hear them; and he must know always what they are doing and 
how they are looking when they are speaking. He cannot comment on 
them or explain them, or palliate their misdeeds. He must project them 
outside of himself ; and he cannot be his own lecturer to point out their 
motives. He must get on without any attempt to point out the morality 
of his work, which remains implicit, though it ought to be obvious. He 
must work easily within many bonds, seeming always to be free and 
unhampered ; and he must turn to account these restrictions and find his 
profit in them, for they are the very qualities which differentiate the 
drama and make it what it is." 

— Brander Matthews : Inquiries and Opinions. 



126 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Fiction and Dialogue 

1. A. conversation between Shakespeare, his father, his 
mother, and his wife, just before he left Stratford for 
London. 

2. Shakespeare's first adventures in London. 

3. Shakespeare and Marlowe. 

In these stories, though truth to character and conditions should be 
carefully observed, it is permissible to invent details. See Landor's 
dialogue on the deer-stealing incident. 

4. You will appreciate Shakespeare's skill as a dramatist 
only after trying to do dramatic work yourself. Write a 
scene in dialogue, or even a short drama. Shakespeare did 
not as a rule invent his plots, though he improved them won- 
derfully. For your first attempt, put into dialogue form a 
short story which provides you with a well- contrived and 
interesting plot and distinctly conceived characters. Since 
not all stories, not even all good stories, are suited for 
dramatization, use care in making your choice. You will 
find suitable tales among the short stories of the following 
writers : 

a. Kipling. e. Hawthorne. 

b. Stevenson. /. Poe. 

c. Daudet. g. Miss Jewett. 

d. De Maupassant. h. Mrs. Wilkins-Freeman. 

Occasionally a short story that would lend itself well to 
dramatization appears in a magazine. 

In dramatizing the story you choose, apply the following 
suggestions : 

a. Plot and characters must be brought out solely by the 
words and actions of the personages on the stage. Stage 
directions may only describe the setting and indicate the 
movements of the actors. 



SHAKESPEARE 127 

b. The plot will need rearrangement, so as to be pre- 
sented in a few scenes, and in one place, or at most two or 
three places. Decide what parts of the story shall happen 
on the stage, and what shall only be told. Combine, if 
necessary, two or more of the scenes of the story you are 
dramatizing. 

c. Make the situation — i.e., past events, and the rela- 
tions of the characters to one another at the opening of the 
play — absolutely clear in the first scene, and this without 
tiresome explanations. 

d. Introduce all the characters early, making their traits 
evident from their first appearance. 

e. Make the speeches brief, natural, and characteristic of 
the speaker. 

/. Let the events follow out of each other, and lead up 
to a climax. 

g. In order to keep up the interest, stick to the plot, be 
brief, keep the audience in suspense, and make the action 
more interesting and the movement more rapid as you 
proceed. 

[5. For your next drama, choose a plot upon which less of the work 
has already been done. Take one of the old stories which have shown 
their worth by charming generations of men. A few collections of 
such tales are suggested : 

a. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. 

b. Malory's Morte tf Arthur. Lanier, S.: TJie Boy 1 s King Arthur. 
Scribner. 

c. A book of classic myths, as Gayley, C. M.: The Classic 
Myths in English Literature. Ginn. 1902. 

d. A book of northern myths, such as Guerber, H. A. : Myths of 
Northern Lands. American Book Company. Anderson, R. B.: 
Norse Mythology. Scott. 

e. A Book of Golden Deeds. Edited by C. M. Yonge. Macmillan. 
Such reference books as Brewer's Beader's Handbook, or the volume 
of the IAbrary of the WorWs Best Literature containing synopses 



128 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

of books, will suggest plots which you can look up in greater detail 
elsewhere. Do not hesitate to develop or change a story. 

6. Next you may wish to construct a drama with an original plot. 
Hints for such a plot may be suggested by — 

a. Some tragedy in the daily paper. 

b. An incident that happened in your town. 

c. Something that occurred in the life of an ancestor or a relative. 

d. A situation purely imaginary. ] 

7. Write a scene in which two or more of Shake- 
speare's characters, from different plays, shall talk and act 
together: e.g., 

a. Put Juliet in Ophelia's place. 

b. Put Mercutio in Hamlet's place. 

c. Put Hamlet in Henry V's place, rewriting the camp 

scene, or the tennis scene. 

d. Put Henry V in Hamlet's place. 

8. Narrate or dramatize some Elizabethan anecdote : e.g., 

a. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots. 

b. Elizabeth and her courtiers — Burleigh, Essex, and 

others. They might plan the defense of England 
against the Armada. 

c. The return of Drake from his voyage round the world. 

d. Spenser reading Hie Faerie Queene at court. 

e. The death of Sir Richard Grenville. 

f. Sidney's death on the battlefield. 

g. Henry VIII and the Pope. 
h. Raleigh and the cloak. 

Other Suggestions for Narrative or Drama 

9. How Shakespeare helped Ben Jonson to start in his 
profession. 

10. A tale bringing in Shakespeare and Southampton. 

11. Correspondence of Shakespeare and his wife. 



SHAKESPEARE 129 

12. A scene at the Mermaid. (See pp. Ill ff.) 

13. A life of Shakespeare by his daughter Judith. 

14. The last appearance of Shakespeare on the London 
stage. 

15. A story of Shakespeare at Stratford. 

16. The marriage of Shakespeare's daughter. 

17. Shakespeare draws up his will. 

18. The feast just before Shakespeare's death. 

Mooted Points in Shakespeare Criticism 

Many of these questions might serve as propositions for 
debate. Eemember in argument that each statement must 
be proved. Nobody is going to believe what you say on 
such a subject, just because you say so. 

19. Are Shakespeare's sonnets autobiographical ? 

" With this key 
Shakespeare unlocked his heart." 1 
u Did Shakespeare? If so, the less Shakespeare he! " 2 
See also Lee, S. : Great Englishmen of the Sixteenth Century. 

20. Did Shakespeare visit Italy ? 

See plays the scene of which is in Italy; Lee (as above), chapter on 
" Foreign Influences on Shakespeare." 

21. How much did Shakespeare know of French ? 

See French scenes in King Henry V: Elze: Life of Shakespeare, chap- 
ter on " Shakespeare's Learning"; Lee (as above). 

22. Can the order of Shakespeare's plays be determined ? 

See Furnivall : Introduction to the Leopold Shakespeare ; Fleay ; Dow- 
den : Shakespeare Primer; and Shakespeare : His Mind and Art. 

23. Was Shakespeare a diligent student of the Bible ? 

24. Was Shakespeare a Roman Catholic ? 

25. Is Shakespeare's influence moral ? 

1 Wordsworth: " The Sonnet." 2 Browning: "House." 



130 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Exposition 

26. Ruskin says, " Shakespeare has no heroes ; — he has 
only heroines." 1 Discuss this dictum. 

27. Effects on Shakespeare of his early surroundings. 

28. Shakespeare as an actor. 
See Lee, chapter iv. 

29. How did the fact that Shakespeare was an actor 

affect his plays ? 

In what ways are the plays different from what they would have been 
if written by one not familiar with actual stage conditions and actual 
audiences ? 

30. Shakespeare and London. 

31. " There are several men to be regarded, each one of which he was, 
both consciously and of set purpose, before we come to Shakespeare 
the literary man. There is the man of affairs, the actor and manager, 
the country gentleman, the family man, and the man of society." 2 

This passage will suggest half a dozen subjects for essays. 

32. How did the strength of character of Shakespeare, 
and his power to attain success from a worldly point of 
view, affect his plays ? 

33. Was Shakespeare an ambitious man? If so, what 
were the objects of his ambition? 

See facts of his life. 

34. Shakespeare's relations to the court. 

[35. Shakespeare as an Englishman. 

" With all his universality he was distinctly and intensely an English- 
man, but English in the sense of having the English heart rather than the 
English brain. . . . His loves and hates and tastes were English to the 
core." 2 
Take into consideration the historical plays. 

1 Sesame and Lilies. 

2 Munger, T. T. : "Shakespeare of Warwickshire," Atlantic Monthly. 



SHAKESPEARE 131 

36. Shakespeare as a " magnificent thief." 

What is meant by the expression? Illustrate its meaning, and judge 
its applicability to Shakespeare. 

37. Why did Shakespeare take for his plays old plots instead of 
inventing new ones ? 

38. Shakespeare's imagination. 

To what type did it belong (visual, auditory, motor, mixed) ? What 
powers had it (that of creating character ? that of constructing landscape ? 
that of conceiving historical atmosphere) ? Support your opinions by 
proofs or quotations. "No man ever came near to him in the creative 
powers of the mind ; no man had ever such strength at once and such 
variety of imagination." *] 

39. Shakespeare's plays as a " Lay Bible." 

" From dogmatism he is free, of the true spirit of religion he is full. It 
is for this reason that his works are a " Lay Bible." 2 

Discuss and explain, using examples freely. 

40. Why I enjoy Shakespeare's plays. 

To tell the exact truth about this will be difficult, but worth while. 

41. Why was Shakespeare so much more successful, as 
dramatist and as man of business, than Marlowe ? 

[42. Is Shakespeare a philosopher ? 

43. Shakespeare as the " myriad-minded." 3 

What did Coleridge mean by the term ? Discuss its appropriateness to 
Shakespeare. 

44. Comparison of the character and genius of Shakespeare with 
that of Chaucer. 

Are there racial or other characteristics common to the two ? How are 
they different ? Take up your points one by one. 

45. How was the greatest genius that ever lived different from 
other men ? 

46. Why is Shakespeare considered so much greater than other 
writers ? 

iHallam: Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, 
Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries. 

2 H. Morley : English Writers. 3 Coleridge : Biographia Literaria, 



132 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

47. Why is Shakespeare quoted so much more than other writers ? 

48. After Shakespeare had lived, Emerson says, "Life was larger 
than before." x How is this true ? 

49. The indebtedness of Shakespeare to Marlowe. 

50. Shakespeare's use of Euphuism. 

During what part of his life ? For what two purposes? Is his own 
taste affected in any degree by the euphuistic fashion of the day ? See 
Love's Labor's Lost ; Romeo and Juliet, i, 5, 95 ff . ; ii, 4 ; As You Like It, 
iii, 2; iv, 1. 

51. Shakespeare as " an omnivorous reader from youth till the end 
of his days." 2 

Prove the truth of this characterization from the plays you have read. 

52. Compare the women of the man Shakespeare with those of the 
woman George Eliot. 

Consider some of the following points : rank, intelligence, complexity, 
nobility, age, adequacy for their lot, power to grow, fate. 

53. The heroines of Shakespeare who masquerade as boys. 

Suggestions, to be rearranged : stage conditions of the day ; womanli- 
ness, attractiveness, manners ; reasons for introduction. See As You Like 
It, Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Mer- 
chant of Venice. 

54. Shakespeare's pictures of the uneducated. 

Study, for examples, the nurse in Romeo and Juliet ; the craftsmen in 
A Midsummer Night's Dream ; Dogberry and Verges in Much Ado about 
Nothing; Dame Quickly in King Henry IV and The Merry Wives of 
Windsor. Consider office in plays ; truth to life ; Shakespeare's feeling 
toward them. 

55. Shakespeare's development as a man or as a dramatist, as it 
appears in representative plays of the four periods of his literary 
activity. 

Take only one of these two themes. Group your ideas under main 
heads.] 

1 Solution. 

2 Lee : Great Englishmen of the Sixteenth Century. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PURITAN AGE: BIBLIOGEAPHY ; FORMATIVE 
INFLUENCES 

Bibliography 

I. History 

Gardiner, S. R. : The First Two Stuarts and the Puritan Revolution. 
London: Longmans; New York: Scribner. Epochs of Modem History. 

Hale, E. M. A. The Fall of the Stuarts and Western Europe from 
1678 to 1697. Same series as above. 

Clarendon, E. Hyde, Earl of : Characters and Episodes of the Great 
Rebellion. Selected and edited by G. D. Boyle. Oxford: Clarendon 
Press. 1889. 

Written at the request of Charles I. 

Masson, D.: Life and Times of John Milton. 7 vols. Cambridge. 
MacmiUan. 1859-1894, new edition 1881. 

Pepys, S. : Memoirs, comprising his Diary from 1659 to 1669. 
Edited by Richard, Lord Braybrooke. London : Warne. Chandos 
Library ; Macmillan. 

An actual contemporary diary of great interest, 1659-1669. 

Wheatley, W. B.: Samuel Fepys and the World he lived in. Lon- 
don: Bickers. 1880. 

II. Literary History 

Masterman, J. H. B. ■ The Age of Milton. London : Bell. 1897. 
Dowden, E. : Puritan and Anglican : Studies in Literature. 
London: Paul. 1900. 

III. Fiction 

Bunyan, J. : The Pilgrim'' s Progress. Many editions, e.g., 
Houghton ; Routledge. 

The best possible interpretation of certain aspects of the age. 

133 



134 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Church, A. J. : With the King at Oxford. New York : Scribner, 
1885. 

Landor, W. S. : " Oliver Cromwell and Walter Noble," and 
" Milton and Andrew Marvell," in Imaginary Conversations. Works, 
Chapman, vol. iii. 

Quiller-Couch, A. T. : The Splendid Spur. New York: Scribner. 

Scott, Sir W.: Woodstock; The Fortunes of Nigel. Many editions ; 
e.g., Macmillan, Houghton. 

Shorthouse, J. H. : John Inglesant. New York : Macmillan. 

Yonge, C. M.: Pigeon Pie, a Tale of Bound-Head Times. Boston : 
Little. 
■ Under the Storm. New York : Whittaker. Illustrated. 

The Puritan Age 

To the Teacher. — Less definite guidance is purposely given here than 
in the sections on the fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries. The inten- 
tion is that the student's work may grow more and more independent. 
The teacher should be careful not to explain too much beforehand ; but, 
on the other hand, he may well, at this stage, see to it that the students 
work out the topics fully, and that the data in the table called for are 
exact, comprehensive, and significant. 

1. "No greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed 
over England during the years which parted the middle of the reign 
of Elizabeth from the meeting of the Long Parliament." * 

To realize the completeness of this change as it showed 
itself in English literature, compare A Midsummer Night 1 s 
Dream with Paradise Lost and TJie Pilgrim' 's Progress. To 
realize the swiftness of the transformation, locate the date 
of Milton's birth with reference to the dates of the death of 
Elizabeth and of that of Shakespeare. 

2. Prepare a table similar to that called for on p. 22, but 
with only two columns. In the left-hand column insert, 
at intervals proportioned to the lapse of time, important 
historical events between 1600 and 1660, with their dates. 

1 Green. 



THE PURITAN AGE 135 

Choose especially those events which, mark the history of 
Puritanism. Divide the column so as to leave the lower 
fifth blank. 

3. We saw in our study of the sixteenth century that 
under the Tudors the increase of royal power tended to 
unify and strengthen the nation. Show by definite exam- 
ples that this was not the case under the Stuarts. For the 
change, give reasons relating (a) to certain differences in the 
personality of the rulers ; (6) to a change in the attitude of 
the nation toward government. 

4. Account for this change of attitude, so far as explana- 
tion is possible, by reasons connected with — 

a. The enlarged consciousness of national importance. 

b. The prosperity and industrial development of the 

country. 

c. The renaissance. 

d. Discovery. 

e. The reformation, especially as it claimed the right 

of private judgment. 

Along with this change in attitude toward government, 
there grew up in many Englishmen a change in attitude 
toward religion. The new spirit, called Puritanism, we are 
now to study. 

To the Teacher. — Expositions of the Puritan character are to be found 
as follows : 

(1) Green, ch. viii, sec. i. 

(2) Macaulay : " Milton," in Essays, beginning, " We would speak first 
of the Puritans." 

(3) Arnold : Culture and Anarchy, pp. 125 ff., 134 ff. 

5. Explain the meaning and derivation of the term 
Puritan. 

6. When did the Puritan spirit first arise in England? 



136 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Account for the apparent suddenness with which it came 
into prominence. 

7. Illustrate and explain the intense hatred of the Puri- 
tans for everything that seemed to them " popish." How 
was this feeling intensified in the early seventeenth century 
by (a) the Gunpowder Plot ; (b) the partial failure of the 
reformation on the Continent ? 

8. Show how the political feeling and the religious feeling 
had each a share in bringing about the Civil War. 

9. Explain why the Puritans were so preoccupied with 
the moral side of life, showing how each of the following 
tendencies would contribute to this result : 

a. Narrowing of interests since the sixteenth century 

(explain). 

b. Loss of the boundless earthly hopes of the earlier 

period, excited by several causes (explain). 

c. The widespread study of the Bible. 

d. Reaction against abuses in (1) government, (2) legal 

procedure, (3) the manners of the court of 
Charles, (4) the later drama, (5) scandals con- 
nected with the court of the later Stuarts. 

e. Persecution of Nonconformists. 
/. Fighting for principles (explain). 

g. Political power during the Long Parliament and 

the Commonwealth. 
h. Differences among the Puritans themselves. 
i. The reaction of the majority of the nation after 

1660. 

10. Describe and explain the attitude of the Puritans 
toward pleasure; beauty; the arts, especially literature. 
Why, and with what results, did the Puritans take the 
attitude they adopted toward the drama ? 



THE PURITAN AGE 137 

11. "England became the people of a book, and that 
book was the Bible." * What effects upon English litera- 
ture might we expect from the widespread preoccupation 
with the Bible ? 

[Specify immediate and eventual results.] 

12. Green says : 

" John Milton is not only the highest, but the completest type of 
Puritanism. He was born when it began to exercise a direct power 
over English politics and English religion ; he died when its effort to 
mold them into its own shape was over, and when it had again sunk 
into one of many influences to which we owe our English character." 2 

Taine, on the contrary, writes : 

"The Puritan destroys the artist, stiffens the man, fetters the 
writer. ... If a Milton springs up amongst them, it is because . . . 
Milton passes beyond sectarianism. Strictly speaking, the Puritans 
could have but one poet [Bunyan]." 3 

With which opinion do you agree ? Or do you find truth 
in both ? 

13. What lasting good did Puritanism accomplish for 
England and for English literature ? 

1 Green : Short History of the English People. 2 Ibid. 

3 History of English, Literature. 



CHAPTER X 

MILTON 

"The moral king of English literature." — Carlyle. 

Bibliography 

I. Biography 

Pattison, M. : Milton. London: Macmillan; New York: Harper. 
English Men of Letters Series. 1879. 

Garnett, R. : Life of John Milton. London: Scott. 1890. 

Hinchmann and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. (See 
p. 5.) 

Masson, D. : Life and Times of John Milton. Cambridge. Mac- 
millan. 1859-1880. New edition, 1881. 

Considered one of our best biographies. As one critic remarks, 
however, here " Milton is only an incident in his own biography." 
The times are fully described. 

Masson, D. : In the Footsteps of the Poets. New York : Whittaker. 
1893. 

The chapter on Milton contains many pictures illustrating the 
scenes of Milton's life. 

II. Works 

Poetical Works. Edited by D. Masson. 1 vol. London : Macmillan. 
Globe edition. 

Milton, J. : English Poems. Edited by R. C. Browne. 2 vols. 
Oxford: Clarendon Press. Revised edition. 

Prose of Milton. Edited by R. Garnett. Camelot Series. London: 
W. Scott. 1864. 

Areopagitica. Edited by J. W. Hales. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 
1874. 

138 



MILTON 139 

III. Criticism — (For the Teacher) 

Arnold, M. : "Milton" in Essays in Criticism. Second series. 
London: Macmillan. 

Bagehot, W. : "John Milton" in Literary Studies, Works. 
Hartford : Travelers Insurance Company. 1889. Vol. i. 

De Quincey, T. : "Life of Milton," in Works. Edited by D. 
Masson. Edinburgh: Black. 1889-1890. Vol. iv, p. 86. 

Dowden, E. : "Idealism of Milton" in Transcripts and Studies, 
London: Kegan Paul. 1888. 

Macaulay, T. B. : " Milton" in Critical and Historical Essays. 

IV. Fiction 

Manning, A. : The Maiden and Married Life of Mary Powell, 
and the sequel thereto, Deborah's Diary. London : Nimmo. 

The former concerns Milton's first wife ; the latter is supposedly 
written by one of his daughters. 

Reading 

Sonnet On His Having Arrived Lycidas. 

at the Age of Twenty-three. Sonnet On the late Massacre at 

V Allegro. Piedmont. 

II Penseroso. Sonnet On His Blindness. 
Comus. 

Paradise Lost : 

Passages are given in the order of the events of the plot. 



Book i, 


lines 1-26. 


Book iv, lines 131-735 ; 874-end. 


v, 


600-end. 




V, 


308-349. 


vi, 


203-end. 




ix, 


417-916. 


vii, 


131-260. 




XI, 


238-292. 


h 


34-end. 




xii, 


641-649. 


ii, 


entire. 




iii, 


1-55. 


iii, 


540-742. 




vii, 


1-39. 


" What you owe to Milton is 


not any 


knowledge 


. . . ; what you owe is 


power." — De Quincey : Poetry 


of Pope. 








Memory Passages 





Lycidas, 64-85 (21 lines, beginning " Alas, what boots it — ") 
Sonnet On His Blindness. 



140 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Paradise Lost, i, 250-263 (14 lines beginning "Hail, horrors, 
hail ! "). 

iii, 1-155 ; 
vii, 1-139. 

Life and Character of Milton 

" His life was a great epic itself." 

— Gilfillan : Galleries of Literary Portraits. 

1. Insert in your table of dates (see chapter ix, topic 2) 
at proper places in the blank column, the events of Milton's 
life, and the names of his works. 

2. "Milton's life is a drama in three acts." Explain 
this statement. 

3. From what you can learn of Milton's boyhood and 
youth, show to what degree the youthful Milton was a 
typical Puritan. 

4. Give an account of Milton's education : of his schools, 
teachers, studies, methods, training in composition ; his own 
share in his education ; results. 

5. Why did Milton give up the plan of becoming a 
clergyman ? 

6. Would it be well for most young men not to have to 
earn their own living before the age of thirty-two ? Was 
it well for Milton ? Explain. 

7. Value of Milton's life at Horton for his development 
as a poet. 

8. Value of his study of music. 

9. Value of his travels. 

10. Name Milton's early poems in the order of composi- 
tion. 

11. Milton's work during the years of struggle between 
the King and the Parliament, and during the Commonwealth. 
What importance had it for the Puritan cause ? 



MILTON 141 

12. How are the themes of Milton's pamphlets character- 
istic of him as a Puritan ? 

13. Do you praise or blame Milton for his course when 
warned that, if he persisted in his work, he would lose his 
sight ? 

14. Did the years when Milton wrote almost no poetry 
stunt or promote his development as a poet ? Explain. 

15. Milton's domestic relations (a) with his different 
wives; (b) with his daughters. 

[16. In what degree was Milton, at any time of his life, a Puritan 
of the later type, described in the passage from Macaulay referred to 
on page 135 ?] 

17. What reasons for discouragement had Milton after 
the Restoration ? Did he yield to his misfortunes ? 

See history and biography; Samson Agonistes, 1-109,652-704; Para- 
dise Lost, iii, 1 ff. ; vii, 1 ff\ ; Sonnet On his Blindness ; Second Defense 
in Prose of Milton, pp. 102 fT. 

A vivid sense of the deprivations of the blind may be gained from 
a letter by Helen Keller to Mr. Clemens, Critic, vol. 48, p. 404. 

18. Name the poems of Milton's old age, explaining why 
each subject was congenial to him. 

19. Describe and explain the reception given to Paradise 
Lost. 

[20. Of the two opinions concerning Milton's relation to Puritanism 
quoted on p. 137, which do you consider right, or nearer right, and 
why ?] 

21. From the extracts from Milton given below, taken 
with any other material you can find, draw conclusions 
upon the following topics : 

(1) The ambition of Milton: What was its object? 
When did it enter his mind ? What was its aim ? How 
strong was it ? How hopeful ? Was it praiseworthy ? 

(2) Milton's opinion of his powers. 

(3) The means he took to attain his end. 



142 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

a. "You make many anxious inquiries as to what I am thinking 
of ? Harken, Theodotus, lest I blush; and allow me for a little to 
speak big words to you ! You ask what I am thinking of ? So may 
the good Deity help me, of Immortality ! But what am I doing ? Yes, 
I am pluming my wings for a flight." 1 

b. "What besides God has resolved concerning me, I know not, 
but this at least. He has instilled into me, at all events, a vehement 
love of the beautiful. Not with so much labor, as the fables have it, is 
Ceres said to have sought her daughter Proserpine, as I am wont day 
and night to seek for this idea of the beautiful, through the forms 
and faces of things." 2 

c. M I began thus far to assent both to them and divers of my 
friends here at home, and not less to an inward prompting which now 
grew daily upon me, that by labor and intense study (which I take to 
be my portion in this life), joined with the strong propensity of 
nature, I might perhaps leave something so written to aftertimes, 
as they should not willingly let it die." 3 

d. "I was confirmed in this opinion, that he who would not be 
frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought 
himself to be a true poem ; that is, a composition and pattern of the 
best and honorablest things ; not presuming to sing high praises of 
heroic men, or famous cities, unless he have in himself the experience 
and the practice of all that which is praiseworthy. These reasonings, 
together with a certain niceness of nature, an honest haughtiness, and 
self-esteem either of what I was, or what I might be (which let envy 
call pride), and lastly that modesty, whereof, though not in the title- 
page, yet here I may be excused to make some beseeming profession ; 
all these uniting the supply of their natural aid together, kept me 
still above those low descents of mind." 4 

e. Sonnet On his having arrived at the Age of Twenty-three. 

22. u Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart." 5 
What did Wordsworth mean by this ? 

i Letter to Diodati, 1637. 2 Ibid. 

3 The Reason of Church Government urged against Prelaty. 

4 An Apology for Smectymnuus. 

5 Sonnet beginning " Milton ! thou shouldst be living at this hour." 



MILTON 143 

Early Poems 

23. Describe the occasion upon which Comus was written, 
and show how the circumstances helped to determine the 
characters, the scene, and the plot. 

[24. Give some account of the masques of the early seventeenth 
century. How does Comus resemble these, and in what respects is it 
different ?] 

25. Explain the allegory in Comus. What does the Lady 
represent ? The rabble ? Comus ? Account for the parentage 
ascribed to the latter. 

26. What is the legend in regard to Sabrina ? What does 
she signify in the allegory ? 

27. How does the poem show the Puritan tendencies of 
Milton ? 

[Is it the work of the Puritan of Green, or of the Puritan of Macau- 
lay ? 

See references on page 135. 

28. Point out in Comus — 

a. Effects of the renaissance : 

(1) Love of beauty (of what kinds ?). 

(2) Influence of the ancient classics. 

b. Effects of the reformation. 

29. What English expressions correspond in your opinion most 
exactly with V Allegro and II Penseroso as Milton used them ? 

30. "The two former ^L 1 Allegro and II Penseroso~\ have been usu- 
ally regarded merely as detached descriptive poems ; but they are .really 
parts of a series. They are the pleadings, the decision on which is 
Comus.'''' 1 

Explain and pass judgment. 

31. Relate the circumstances that occasioned the writing of 
Lycidas. 

32. What reference does the poem contain to a public evil of the 
day? 

1 R. C. Browne : Introduction to Clarendon Press edition of English 
Poems. 



144 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

33. Give an account of the nature and history of the elegy. What 
examples did Milton follow in writing this elegy ? How closely did he 
pattern after them ? 

34. What passage in Lycidas seems to imply that Milton felt he had 
reached a turning-point in his life ? 

35. In regard to the list of flowers in Lycidas, lines 142-151, Ruskin 
objects that " Milton sticks in the stains upon them, and puts us off 
with that unhappy freak of jet in the very flower that without this bit 
of paper staining would have been the most precious of all." 1 Can 
you find a reason for Milton's course ?] 

36. Which, of his senses gave the youthful Milton most 
pleasure ? How do you know ? 

37. What different forms of beauty can you prove Milton 
to have loved in his youth ? 

38. Point out in the early poems signs of the traits of 
character that you have already attributed to Milton. 

[39. In the successive poems of Milton's youth, does he show himself 
growing toward or away from Puritanism? Cite from each poem pas- 
sages bearing on this question.] 

Paradise Lost 

40. Trace the growth of Paradise Lost from the first 
lodgment of the idea in the mind of Milton. Show how 
the different phases of his education and the various expe- 
riences of his life prepared him to write this, his greatest 
work. Describe the circumstances under which the poem 
was composed, showing how they diminished or increased its 
greatness. E.g., would Paradise Lost have been just what 
it is, if Milton had not become blind ? 

41. Without piety and nobility of character, would Milton 
have been able to write Paradise Lost f Explain. 

For his own opinion, see p. 142. 

1 Modern Painters. 



MILTON 145 

42. Quote the lines in which Milton announces the object 
of the poem. 

[43. Other attempts to " justify the ways of God to men " are : The 
Book of Job, Goethe's Faust, The Pentateuch, Dante's Divina Corn- 
media. Does any one of these explanations satisfy you ? Does Paradise 
Lost?] 

44. Why does Milton, in Paradise Lost, begin in the mid- 
dle of the story ? Cite other examples of the same practice. 

45. Make in your notebook a diagram of Milton's universe. 

See note in the Globe edition. 

[46. Do we now consider it wrong to seek the fruit of the Tree of 
Knowledge ? What was the origin of the feeling ? Explain any 
change.] 

47. What changes in our conception of the origin of man 
have been brought about by the sciences of astronomy, biology, 
and geology ? 

48. Make from the data given in Book i a map of Milton's 
hell. 

49. Collect all the things Milton says of Eden, and from 
them draw your conclusions as to the location, shape, features, 
climate, etc. Write a description of your own, trying to 
make the place seem the paradise Milton meant it to be. 

50. Who is the most important character in the poem ? 
Did Milton mean this to be so ? 

51. In reading the passages about Adam and Eve, notice 
and copy the lines referring to Eve, and to her relations with 
Adam. Draw conclusions as to Milton's ideal woman. What 
light, if any, does this study throw upon his domestic diffi- 
culties ? 

52. Do you think, as does the critic Bagehot, that Satan, 
is made too interesting ? - 

1 Literary Studies. 



146 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

53. What qualities does Milton ascribe to Satan ? 

54. " An angel possessed of mind is contrasted with 
angels possessed only of wings." 1 Explain and discuss this 
opinion. 

55. Distinguish Moloch, Belial, Mammon. 

56. How is the Milton who wrote Paradise Lost different 
from the author of the early poems ? 

[57. What are the requirements of an epic ? Does Paradise Lost 
fulfill them? 

58. What peculiarities of Milton's style interfere with its being easily 
understood ? 

59. a. " Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea. " 2 

b. " His more elaborate passages have the multitudinous roll of 
thunder. ' ' 3 

c. u God-gifted organ voice of England." 4 Which of these compari- 
sons seem to you apt ? Illustrate by quoting passages from the poems. 

60. Watch for places where the meter varies from the regular pen- 
tameter which is the normal blank verse. (See Gummere : Poetics.) 
Can you see in the sense of such a passage any reason for the variation ? 

61. Can you see what Lowell means by this : 

M There are no such vistas and avenues of verse as his. In reading the 
Paradise Lost one has a feeling of spaciousness such as no other poet 
gives." 5 ] 

62. Why was Milton so little appreciated by his contem- 
poraries ? How they felt, most of them, is illustrated by 
these words of the poet Waller : 

' 'The old blind poet hath published a tedious poem on the Fall of 
Man. If its length be not considered a merit, it hath no other. " 

The following extract may help any student who needs 
such assistance to appreciate Paradise Lost : 

"Dr. Johnson said, and many have said after him, that the reading 
of Paradise Lost is a task which people perform once and are glad 

1 Literary Studies. 

2 Wordsworth : " Milton ! thou shouldst be living at this hour." 

8 Lowell : " Milton.'' 4 Tennyson : " Milton." " 5 " Milton." 



MILTON 147 

never to resume. . . . It is quite otherwise, I believe, when we receive 
it as the deepest, most complete utterance of a human spirit ; when it 
comes forth as the final expression of the thoughts of a man who has 
been fighting a hard battle, ... who thinks that he has fallen on evil 
days and evil tongues ; whose eyes 

" roll in vain 
To find the piercing ray, and find no dawn " ; 

who was cut off from all the joys of nature at the very time when he 
was deserted and persecuted by his fellow-men. Hear in Paradise Lost 
the song of such a man, gathering up all the memories and experiences 
of the years through which he has passed, of the men with whom he 
has conversed, and of the books that he has loved. Read it as the 
expression of an unchanged and imperishable faith in the Will of a 
Righteous Being, which disobedience cannot set at naught, against whom 
all evil powers may strive but cannot prevail ; read it as the assurance 
that that Will is the source of all the beautiful things which he can look 
upon no longer, of all the music which is in him, and which sounds 
through creation — read it thus, and you will need no critic to tell you 
about its sublimity. " — Maurice, F. : Friendship of Books. 

Essay Subjects 

" That by labor and intense study (which I take to be my portion in 
this life), joined with the strong propensity of nature, I might perhaps 
leave something so written to aftertimes, as they should not willingly let 
it die." — The Reason of Church Government urged against Prelaty. 

1. Write one of the letters mentioned or suggested below, 
choosing one that will give you an opportunity to depict the 
character of Milton, and perhaps the events of his travels. 
The passage is from Milton's Second Defense. 

1 ' On my departure [for the continent] the celebrated Henry Woot- 
ten, who had long been King James' ambassador at Venice, gave me 
a signal proof of his regard, in an elegant letter [a] which he wrote, 
breathing not only the warmest friendship, but containing some max- 
ims of conduct which I found very useful in my travels. The noble 
Thomas Scudamore, King Charles' ambassador, to whom I carried 
letters of recommendation [6] received me most courteously at Paris. 



148 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

His lordship gave me a card of introduction [c] to the learned Hugo 
Grotius, at that time ambassador from the Queen of Sweden to the 
French court ; whose acquaintance I anxiously desired, and to whose 
house I was accompanied by some of his lordship's friends. A few 
days after, when I set out for Italy, he gave me letters [d] to the 
English merchants on my route, that they might show me any civilities 
in their power. ' ' 

E.g., write a letter from Wootten to Scudamore, introduc- 
ing Milton, and describing his character and attainments. 

e. Letter left behind by Milton's daughters, when they 
left his house. 

/. Letter written by Mary Powell Milton to her mother, 
after she had been married a few weeks. 

2. A defense of Milton's first wife. 

3. A description of the young Milton by his friend 

Diodati. 

This might be written in their youth, or from the standpoint of later 
years. 

4. Life of Milton by Elwood, his Quaker secretary. 

5. Milton as a husband and father. 

[6. Milton as a representative Puritan. 

7. Milton in his earlier years as typical of the earlier phase of 
Puritanism. ] 

8. Milton's character as shown by his course of action 
when threatened with blindness. 

9. Was Milton justified in sacrificing his sight ? 
10. Was the aged Milton happy ? 

[11. Compare Milton with Dante in life and character.] 

12. Contrast the young with the old Milton. 

13. Hindrances to Milton as a poet. 

14. Milton's fitness, by character and training, for writing 
Paradise Lost. 

15. Eve as Milton's ideal woman. 



MILTON 149 

16. A pamphlet on woman suffrage, supposedly by Milton. 
Would he write for, or against ? 

IT. A description of the universe as conceived by Milton, 
including heaven, hell, chaos, and the terrestrial system. 

18. A description of Milton's paradise. 

19. A description of an ideal Eden of your own. 

Try to experience the " genuine imaginative effort" described by Mr. 
Halleck in the following passage: "We should note the difference of 
energy required in interpreting a ready-made picture and in constructing 
an original one. We read Milton's description of Eden, and perhaps form 
interpretative pictures to correspond in a measure to the description. Let 
us apply the test by closing the book and constructing an original picture 
of an ideal landscape, as perfect in the number and proportion of elements 
as it is possible for our imagination to depict. Now we have genuine im- 
aginative effort, — an effort which some people have never experienced." 1 

[20. Compare Milton's picture of hell with one of the following 
famous literary descriptions of the lower regions : 

a. Homer's Odyssey, bk. xi. 

b. Virgil's uEneid, bk. vi. 

c. Dante's Inferno. 

d. Spenser's The Faerie Queene, bk. ii, canto vii. 

e. Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, canto iv. 

21. Compare Milton's Satan with one of the following: 

a. The Mephistopheles of Goethe's Faust. 

b. The Lucifer of Byron's Cain. 

c. Napoleon. 

Coleridge pointed out four qualities in which he thought Milton's Satan 
and Napoleon were alike. 

22. Point out in Paradise Lost traces of the character of the author. 

23. Samson Agonistes as a self-revelation of the author. 

24. Is Puritanism favorable for the production of literature ? 
See p. 137. 

25. The picture of the Puritan in Butler's Hudibras. 

26. Bunyan as a Puritan. 

See Browne, J. : John Bunyan : his Life, Times, and Work. Houghton. 
1885.] 

1 Halleck, R. P.: Psychology and Psychic Culture. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE CLASSIC AGE: BIBLIOGRAPHY; THE TIMES 

" A reader is happiest whose mind is broad enough to enjoy the natural 
school for its nature, and the artificial for its artificiality, provided they 
be only good of their kind." — Lowell : Literary Essays. 

Bibliography 

I. History 

Lecky, W. E. H. : History of England in the Eighteenth Century. 
New edition. 1903. 8 vols. New York: Appleton. Ch. v, parts of 
iv, and parts of ix. 

For particular topics, see Table of Contents. 

McCarthy, J. : The Beign of Queen Anne. 2 vols. New York : 
Harper. 1902. 

Macaulay, T. B. : Histoi~y of England from the Accession of James 
II. New York: Harper. 1849-1867. Ch. xi ff. 

Morris, E. E. : The Age of Anne. London : Longmans. 1877. 
New York : Scribner. 1890. Epochs of Modern History. 

II. Maxners 

Ashton, J. : Social Life in the Beign of Queen Anne. London : 
Chatto. New edition. 1882. 

Sydney, W. C. : England and the English in the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury. 2 vols. London : Ward and Downey. 1891. 

III. Literary History 

Do not try to read all these works. Many are given to provide for 
differences in resources. 

Dennis, J. : The Age of Pope. London: Bell. 1894. Handbooks 
of English Literature. 

Garnett, "R.: The Age of Dry den. Same series. 1895. 

150 



THE CLASSIC AGE 151 

Gosse, E. W. : ,A History of Eighteenth Century Literature. 1660- 
1780. London: Macmillan. 1889. 

From Milton to Johnson. London: Macmillan. 1903. 

Perry, T. S. : English Literature in the Eighteenth Century. New 
York: Harper. 1883. 

Stephen, Sir L. : History of English Thought in the Eighteenth 
Century. New York: Pntnam. 1876. Especially vol. ii, ch. xii, 
sees, i, iii, iv, vii. 

English Literature and Society in the Eighteenth Century. 

London: Duckworth. 1904. Ford Lectures. 1903. 



IV. Fiction 

Thackeray, W. M. : Henry Esmond. New York : Harper. 1897. 
Many other editions. 

Weyman, S. J. : Shrewsbury. London : Longmans. 1897. 



The Times 

To the Teacher. — Before studying the history and characteristics of 
the eighteenth century, the student should take a glimpse at the life of the 
times. To this a whole recitation may well be given. 

1. Try to reconstruct the dress, the surroundings, and the 
typical daily routine of the following persons as they were 
found in the time of Anne : 

a. A beau. 

b. A wit. 

c. A fine lady. 

2. Between what two landmarks in history lies the 
"eighteenth century/' — not as an arithmetical number of 
years, but as an age having distinct social and intellectual 
characteristics ? 

See histories. The time covered by the table is not coextensive with 
the eighteenth century. 



152 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



sg 







^ ° c3 

O 
*■< <o u 

? b 






"el -- 



. «*^! 



GQ 






O O 



fl rt § ~ 

® fi s; 5 



fl £ 



in 
ft 



OH <M 

co o co 



CO i-H 

w oo 



£ 2 

b5 i 

WO C $ 

•J rs o^o 
« a «■> a 

^ o «d 

Ho . £ .O 

= rt 3 c .2 

1 > | ef » 

S3 ? 5** 

tn^ fcdD£ >, 
a> o3 o 



m ft, 



O S-, 



CO «l 



© 



o e o 



§2~ 

Mi— ^ 

*~ •- Cij 

1*1 



.2 ° o 

• asp 

W o3.2«3 

£3 — ■ o ^ 



^ ,2 "L < 



-3 o 



o • o o c jg 

tq ftg £k 



c'O 9 

ft^ o 



ftW 



C^3 g 



o^> C C 

Ci- O 

M-2 

. 5 -" <* 

c « a> o 

Sols- 
"O -M ** ^5 

5 .2 © 2 p 



-r— go 



CO £. CO CO COCO CO CO 

T-l f-j r-l T-( TlH T-i tH 



THE CLASSIC AGE 153 



t^'Em 



"3 a 



— o 




r *< 'S 


o • 






o-S? 




w s» <s> 


5S 






og 






c o 


..^ 


fl c3 






,2 *.U' 


t* 


o 




p 


Hi 


PHcE 






P go's <30 gg oq <3 Ph pu Ph Ph Ph <j P-i ac ao Pi Ph Ph Pi qq 



WHM^^t-ao <o cs °? °? ta <* »o 

I IrHTHiHlrHrH^ <S (N ^ (i M ■* ■<* 



I sl § . 

° «m £ ©2 -^ 

>> ^ I e a I 2 

I •= o Sal £ a SiiJJ" ,3 a « « B i §• 1 £ 







.2 bJ3'S 








tc 

.2 


- s wfl 








Ni 


-. ^ '-"S 




oa 


-a* >l 




£ 
* 


» " C o d tn 


It 


03 






<D h rjQ « o (jj 


ft 

.s 

be 


in 

o 

a 

Hi 


OllCS. 

Act of Settl 
Anne. Ma 
War of the 
Battle of B 
Union of S 
and Wal 
The Junto. 



OS O OO _LOO O rH rtrHrlH i-( CM ", CM 



154 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

3. During what space of time were the masterpieces of 
the so-called " classic " writers produced ? 

4. How appropriate is the term "Age of Anne," as 
applied to a time of literary activity ? 

5. Pick out the three consecutive years of this period 
which were most important in the history of litera- 
ture. 

To the Teacher. — The following exercise is purposely of greater diffi- 
culty than previous historical sections. The nature of the times makes 
the subject more complex and more abstract ; and at the same time, it is 
intended, as has been said before, to throw the student more and more on 
his own resources. He should be led to explain fully each topic, connect- 
ing with it the appropriate dates in the table; and he should indicate 
clearly the causal relations of each of these topics with one or more of 
the great tendencies enumerated in B. The teacher should see that 
the student's thinking is clear, that his reasoning is logical, and that 
his expression is precise. Interest may be kept alert by constantly 
demanding or supplying concrete details, by appealing to the love 
of solving problems, and by keeping in view of the student the final 
aim of the study: appreciation of a most important school of English 
literature. 

6. The topics in A below enumerate facts or tenden- 
cies that helped to mold the eighteenth century. As 
far as may seem desirable in each case, (a) explain the 
meaning of the topics ; (b) illustrate by examples ; (c) show 
causes ; (d) trace development. The suggestions under the 
first few topics illustrate what it is meant should be done. 
Under B are general characteristics of the age. Show 
how the topics under A either helped to bring about the 
characteristics under B, or else illustrate their truth. Some 
of the topics under A are related to more than one of those 
under B. Make a table, taking the topics of B as main 
heads, and under them ranging the topics of A, specifying 
whether each is a clause or an illustration of the head under 
which it stands. 



THE CLASSIC AGE 155 

A. Formative Influences 

(1) Dying down of the intense vitality of the sixteenth 
century. 

Were any of the forces that fanned the flame less intense or no longer 
operative? Explain. % 

(2) The corrupt king and court of the Restoration. 

What circumstances had made the morals of the courtiers still lower 
than under Charles I? How would this affect the people? 

(3) Eeaction against Puritanism. 

Point out at least three reasons for this reaction, and show its effects 
upon the people at large. 

(4) Laws against Nonconformists. 

What were these laws ? Describe their results upon the Nonconform- 
ists themselves, and upon others. 

(5) Dread of Catholicism, intensified by (a) the attempt 
of James II to force Catholicism upon the country ; (6) 
Catholic plots. 

(6) The legal prescription of religious beliefs and cere- 
monies. 

(7) Commercial jealousy as the motive of the war with 
Holland, and "the balance of power " as the motive of the 
War of the Spanish Succession, as compared with the 
motives for war with Spain at the time of the Armada. 

(8) " The humiliation which French patronage and Dutch 
victories imposed upon the nation." l 

(9) Jacobite plots. 

(10) Examples of treachery in men of high place. 

(11) Substitution, for the doctrine of the divine right of 
kings, of the principle of the supremacy of Parliament. 

(12) The important roie played after the Eevolution by 
parliamentary debate. 

1 Lecky. 



156 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(13) Party strife. 

(14) " The new political and material channels opened to 
human energy." * 

(15) Corruption in politics. 

(16) Freedom of the press. 

(17) Spread of political pamphlets. 

(18) Popularity of clubs. 

(19) Vogue of periodicals. 

(20) Widespread interest in science, with the foundation 
of the Eoyal Society, and the discoveries by Newton and 
other scientists. 

(21) Growth of religious skepticism. 

(22) The character and popular estimate of women. 

(23) Establishment of the Bank of England. 

(24) Development of industry. 

(25) Speculation, as illustrated by the South Sea Bubble. 

B. Characteristics of the Age 

(1) Sluggishness of the imagination and of the higher 
emotions. 

(2) Low state of morals and religion. 

(3) The centering of attention on material and worldly 
advancement. 

(4) Keenness and activity of the intellect. 

(5) Respect for law, authority, reason, convention. 

[7. Mention any hypothesis yon now feel yourself in a position to 
make in regard to the literature of this age. Make conjectures as to 
(a) subjects, (b) spirit, (c) literary forms, (d) style.] 

1 Green. 



CHAPTER XII 

DRYDEN 

"Considering what he [Dryden] started with, what he accomplished, 
and what advantages he left to his successors, he must be pronounced, 
without exception, the greatest craftsman in English letters, and as such 
he ought to be regarded with peculiar veneration by all who, in however 
humble a capacity, are connected with the craft. " 

, — Saintsbury, G. : Dryden. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

Poetical Works. Edited by W. D. Christie. New Globe Poets. 
London : Macmillan. 

Select Poems. Edited by W. D. Christie. Fifth edition, revised 
by C. H. Eirth. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 

Essays. Edited by W. P. Ker. 2 vols. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 
1900. 

II. Life 

Saintsbury, C. E.: Dryden. English Men of Letters Series. 

London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 1881. 

Interesting brief accounts may be found as follows : 
Christie, W. D. : Biographical Memoir, in the Globe edition, 
Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. (See 

p. 5.) 

Johnson, S. : " Life of Dryden," in Lives of the English Poets, 
Macaulay, T. B.: "John Dryden" in Critical and Historical 

Essays. 

Eossetti, W. M. : "John Dryden," in Lives of Famous Poets, 

London : Moxon. 1878. 

To the Teacher. — These might be consulted by different students., who 
would thus be able to supplement one another's information. 

157 



158 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

III. Criticism 
Lowell, J. R. : " Dryden," in Literary Essays, vol. iii. 

To the Teacher. — Most students cannot readily appreciate the poetry 
of the Classic School. The task of helping them to admire its clearness, 
polish, brilliancy, and other excellent qualities, requires in the teacher 
considerable tact, as well as a broad and sympathetic knowledge of the 
field. It is helpful to read chosen passages aloud, with question and com- 
ment. It is most important of all, perhaps, to require the composition of 
heroic verse. Such exercises may be criticised by comparison with the 
practice of Pope and Dryden, and by reference to their rhetorical writings, 
such as Dryden's The Art of Poetry, and Pope's An Essay on Criticism. 
Gummere's Handbook of Poetics, especially the pages referring to the heroic 
couplet, will also be helpful to the teacher, as will be Lanier's Science of 
English Verse, last chapter. It should be remembered that far more goes 
to the making of good heroic couplets than smooth rhyme and the rule of 
thumb. The subjects for themes in verse, suggested on pp. 179 fr*., may be 
introduced at discretion. Single couplets might be called for at frequent 
intervals. The subjects, which should in most cases be assigned, might 
be the character of a famous or public man, or some abstract theme, or a 
familiar proverb. A subject actually treated by Pope or one of his con- 
temporaries in some well-turned couplet might be given out, and after the 
students have done their best, this couplet might be produced for purposes 
of comparison. Throughout the study of the Classic School, three pur- 
poses — in addition to those set forth on pp. 8 ff. — should be definite in the 
teacher's mind : 

(1) That the students may gain power to appreciate the Classic writers. 

(2) That they may have practice in criticism. Classic literature is a 
good field for this sort of work. It does not overawe the students ; and 
its qualities, good and bad, are chiefly intellectual, and therefore capable 
of definite statement. 

(3) That they may emulate in their own prose style the good qualities 
of the classicists. Clearness of thought, precision of wording, condensa- 
tion, balance, antithesis, euphony, varied and satisfying rhythm, — these 
are all qualities which young writers usually lack, and sometimes despise. 
To pay attention to such things at this stage would be well for the follow- 
ing reasons : 

a. Previous study having given training in the larger matters of com- 
position, the student should now be ready to work at matters of detail. 

b. Excellent examples of all these qualities are afforded by the classics 
under consideration. 



DRYDEN" 159 

c. Practice of this sort, in connection with critical reading, should lead 
to a keener and more intelligent appreciation of the Classic writers. 

The reading aloud in class of some of Dryden's poetry should precede 
the study of his life. 

Reading 

Alexander 's Feast. 

Palamon and Arcite. 

Compare the poem with Chaucer's " The Knightes Tale," on which it is 
based. 

Absalom and Achitophel, pt. i, lines 150-179 ; 541-568. 

[Preface to the Fables.] 

Life 

1. Make a table of three columns on the life and times 
of Dryden. For the historical column choose from the first 
column of the table on pp. 152-153, the landmarks of the 
great political and religious changes of the day. In the bio- 
graphical column insert, among other important facts, the 
effects of the historical data on Dryden's circumstances, and 
the actions Dryden adopted in consequence of historical 
events. In the third column insert according to their dates 
the names of Dryden's works. 

2. Explain the following references to Dryden's life : 

(1) "A bristled Baptist bred." 1 

(2) " Great Dryden did not early great appear, 

Faintly distinguished in his thirtieth year." 2 

(3) " We that live to please, must please to live." 3 

(4) " Great high-priest of all the nine." 4 

The nine Muses. How many of the Muses can Dryden, in his different 
writings, be conceived to have served ? 

1 By a contemporary enemy. See Globe edition of Dryden. 

2 Emsden, L., poet laureate: Verses addressed to Charles Montague. 

3 Johnson, S. : Prologue for the opening of the Drury Lane Theater. 
A general statement about people connected with the stage. 

4 Churchill, C. : An Epistle to William Hogarth. 



160 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(5) "A time-server in politics, a turn-coat in religion, 
and in literature a flexible follower of succession of schools." 1 

It would be interesting to have certain students attack Dryden, and 
others defend him. What are the suspicious facts? Can these be shown 
to have their roots in a constant and justifiable disposition of mind? 

(6) " The Bacon of the rhyming crew." 2 

(7) " Glorious John." 3 

3. List Milton's latest and Dryden's earliest poems, and 
compare the dates. What inferences do you draw ? 

4. The great contrast between Paradise Lost and Dry- 
den's poetry would seem to indicate a great change in envi- 
ronment and public taste. Point out the causes of the 
transformation. 

5. What harmful effects, if any, had the conditions of 
the day upon Dryden's character and writings ? 

6. Divide into two periods Dryden's literary life. Point 
out the causes of the difference between his earlier and his 
later works. 

7. What poems illustrate the changes in Dryden's reli- 
gious and political views ? 

8. Give a number of reasons why Dryden should have 

been a successful poet laureate. 

What powers and qualities should you suppose desirable for one holding 
this office ? One requisite is a matter of temperament ; several requisites 
are good qualities; and one or two are objectionable characteristics. 
Alexander's Feast illustrates certain desirable qualities; Absalom and 
Achitophel, other requisites; others must be inferred from his career as 
a whole. 

9. " An author is not to write all he can, but only all he 
ought." 4 Did Dryden follow his own principle ? Point out 
the reasons for his course, and its results. 

10. Draw from the following words of Dryden an infer- 

iMacaulay: Essays. 3 Scott: The Pirate. 

2 Landor : Wordsworth. 4 Preface to Fables. 



DRYDEN 161 

ence (a) about his social life ; (b) about his scrupulousness 
in the use of English : 

"The properties and delicacies of the English are known to few ; 
it is impossible even for a good wit to understand and practice them 
without the help of a liberal education, long reading and digesting of 
those few good authors we have amongst us, the knowledge of men and 
manners, the freedom of habitude and conversation with the best 
company of both sexes ; and, in short, without wearing off the rust 
which he contracted while he was laying in a stock of learning." 1 

Works 
P alamos and Arcite 

11. How long a time is covered by the events of the plot ? 
There are in the poem at least eight references to the passage of time. 

12. Distinguish between the characters of Palamon and 
Arcite. 

13. Which do you think should have had Emily ? Why ? 

[14. Compare the poem with the original, Chaucer's " The Knightes 
Tale," in the following respects : 

a. Truth to nature. 

b. Choice of words. 

c. Position of pauses. 

d. Length of descriptions. 

15. Make a detailed comparison of Chaucer's description of Emily 
in the garden ("The Knightes Tale," lines T. 1033-1055), and the 
corresponding passage in Dryden's version.] 

Other Poems 

16. Dryden has been called "the greatest satirist of 
British poetry." 2 What is a satirist ? What passages of 
the suggested reading contain satire ? 

[Can you see why this satire is great ?] 

1 Dedication of Troilus and Cressida. 

2 Christie, W. D. : Introduction to the Globe edition of Dryden's poems. 



162 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

17. Pick out from Dryden' s poetry couplets or lines that 
impress you. Why do you like them? Are the reasons 
the same as your reasons for enjoying Shakespeare or 
Milton ? 

[18. What is the meter of most of Dryden's poems ? What other 
poets whom we have studied have employed this meter ? Does it 
sound, in Dryden's poems, as it did in earlier poetry ? 

19. The following criticism contains nine descriptive epithets for 
Dryden's verse. Which do you consider appropriate ? Illustrate by 
quoting from the poems. Are there any terms here which you do 
not consider appropriate ? 

"... Dryden, whose versification I take to he the most musical that 
has yet appeared in rhyme. Round, sweet, pompous, spirited, and various, 
it flows with such a happy volubility, such an animated and masterly 
negligence, as I am afraid will not soon be excelled." *] 

20. Explain the great reputation and influence the fol- 
lowing extracts show Dryden to have had in the eighteenth 
century : 

a. " Then comes a bard 
Worn out and penniless, and poet still, 
Though bent with years, and in impetuous rhyme 
Pours out his unexhausted song. What muse 

So flexible, so generous, as thine, 
Immortal Dryden ! " 2 

b. "Waller was smooth, but Dryden taught to join 

The varying verse, the full resounding line, 
The long majestic march and energy divine." 3 

c. " What was said of Rome adorned by Augustus, may be applied 
by an easy metaphor to English poetry embellished by Dryden, 
Lateritiam invenit, marmoream reliquit, — ' He found it brick, and he 
left it marble.' " 4 

1 Armstrong, J. : Essays. 2 Hurdis, J. : TJie Village Curate. 

3 Pope : Imitations of Horace. 

4 Johnson : " John Dryden," in Lives of the English Poets. 



DRYDEN 163 

21. To appreciate the influence of Dry den, one must com- 
pare the style he originated, not with that of the great but 
exceptional Milton, but with the style of the minor poets 
who represented the tastes of the seventeenth century in 
poetry.* The following quotation from Ward's The English 
Poets will afford a few illustrations of the tendency toward 
extravagant conceits into which the freedom of the great 
Elizabethans had degenerated in the hands of weaker men. 

a. " The lover writes his love-letters in lemon-juice, that the fire of 
his mistress' eyes may bring the letters to light. At another time 
he pictures his heart as not inflammable only, but explosive : 

4 Woe to her stubborn heart if once mine come 
Into the selfsame room ! 
'Twill tear and blow up all within, 
Like a grenado shot into a magazine.' 

At another, the story of his love cut in the bark has burnt and 
withered up the tree. ... Or again ; is his mistress dressed out for 
conquest ? Then her beauty, which had been a civil government 
before, becomes a tyranny." 1 

b. Another illustration of this tendency is the following 
passage from George Herbert : 

" Drink not the third glasse, which thou canst not tame 
When once it is within thee ; but before, 
Mayst rule it as thou list and poure the shame, 
Which it would poure on thee, upon the floore. 
It is most just to throw that on the ground 
Which would throw me there, if I keep the round." 2 

c. To understand Dryden's reputation and influence, we 
should take into consideration also the fact that Dryden 
spoke of himself in his old age as one who had done his 
best to improve the language, and especially the poetry. 

1 Ward: " Abraham Cowley," in The English Poets. 

2 The Church Porch. 



164 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

d. We should consider also that he gave this advice to 

poets : 

" Gently make haste, of labor not afraid ; 
A hundred times consider what you've said ; 
Polish, repolish, every color lay, 
And sometimes add, but oft'ner take away." 1 

22. Macaulay says: "No man exercised so much in- 
fluence on the age. The reason is obvious. On no man did 
the age exercise so much influence." 2 In what degree, if 
at all, is this true ? 

The Preface to the Fables 
[23. What can you infer from this Preface as to Dryden's intellec- 
tual qualities and habits, e.g., frankness, precision, independence of 
thought, originality, critical acumen, intellectual honesty, soundness 
of judgment ? 

24. Does the study of this Preface tend to modify in any way the 
conception of Dry den's character which you formed when studying 
his life ? 

25. Find and copy into your notebook at least three passages 
about the art of composition. Prom them infer some of Dryden's 
opinions on this subject. 

26. With which of Dryden's criticisms upon Chaucer do you agree ? 
Which do you consider ill-founded ? In the latter cases, explain why 
Dryden would naturally have judged Chaucer as he did. 

27. " Chaucer, I confess, is a rough diamond ; and must first be polished 
ere he shines. I deny not, likewise, that, living in our early days of poetry, 
he writes not always of a piece, but sometimes mingles trivial things with 
those of greater moment. Sometimes also, though not often, he runs riot, 
like Ovid, and knows not when be has said enough. But there are more 
great wits besides Chaucer, whose fault is their excess of conceits, and 
those ill sorted. An author is not to write all he can, but only all he 
ought. Having observed this redundancy in Chaucer (as it is an easy 
matter for a man of ordinary parts to find a fault in one of greater) I have 
not tied myself to a literal translation ; but have often omitted what I 
judged unnecessary, or not of dignity enough to appear in the company of 
better thoughts." 3 

1 The Art of Poetry. 2 Essays. 

3 Preface prefixed to the Fables. 



DRYDEN 165 

Compare Dryden's style in the passage above with that of his prede- 
cessors as illustrated by the sentences from Milton's prose on pp. 
142 ff, and by the following extracts : 

a. "He [Cromwell] was one of those men, quos vituperare ne inimici 
quidem possunt, nisi ut simul laudent. For he could never have do^e 
half that mischief without great parts of courage, industry, and judgment. 
He must have had a wonderful understanding in the natures and humors 
of men, and as great a dexterity in applying them ; who, from a private 
and obscure birth (though of a good family), without interest or estate, 
alliance or friendship, could raise himself to such a height, and com- 
pound and knead such opposite and contradictory tempers, humors, and 
interests into a consistence, that contributed to his designs, and to their 
own destruction ; whilst himself grew insensibly powerful enough to cut 
off those by whom he had climbed, in the instant that they projected to 
demolish their own building." 1 

b: " That there are griffins in nature, that is, a mixed and dubious ani- 
mal, in the forepart resembling an eagle, and behind the shape of a lion, 
with erected ears, four feet, and a long tail, many affirm, and most, I per- 
ceive, deny not. The same is averred by iElian, Solinus, Mela, and 
Herodotus — countenanced by the name sometimes found in Scripture, and 
was a hieroglyphic of the Egyptians." 2 

In your comparison discuss clearness ; grammatical accuracy ; 
length of sentence ; complexity of sentence structure ; use of rhetori- 
cal devices ; approach to conversational style. 

28. Why should Lowell call Dryden "the first of the moderns" ? 3 

29. Is Dryden's expression, u the other harmony of prose," 4 appli- 
cable to his own prose writings ? Illustrate. 

30. In a criticism of the style of Dryden's prefaces, Johnson uses 
the following terms, some affirmatively, some negatively : tedious, 
splendid, formality, balanced, vigorous, modeled, gay, cold, languid, 
airy, animated. Which terms do you suppose Johnson affirmed, and 
which do you think he denied ? Cite passages to illustrate the appro- 
priateness or inappropriateness of each. 

31. In what respects should you like your own style to resemble 
that of Dryden's prose ? 

32. Explain why Dryden is less highly praised to-day than he was 
during his life — less, perhaps, than he deserves to be.] 

1 Clarendon : History of the Rebellion. 

2 Sir Thomas Browne : Pseudodoxia Epidemica. 

3 " Dryden." 4 Preface to Fables. 



CHAPTER XIII 
POPE 

"It rouses the blood, it kindles the heart, to remember what an 
indomitable force of heroic spirit, and sleepless always as fire, was 
enclosed in the pitiful body of the misshapen weakling whose whole life 
was spent in fighting the good fight of sense against folly, of light against 
darkness, of human speech against brute silence, of truth and reason 
and manhood against all the banded bestialities of all dunces and all 
dastards, all blackguardly blockheads and all blockheaded blackguards." 
— Swinburne : A Century of English Poetry. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

Poetical Works. Edited by A. W. Ward. Globe edition. Lon- 
don : Macmillan. Revised edition. 1897. 

Complete Poetical Works. Cambridge edition. Boston : Hough- 
ton. 1902. 

Includes the Iliad. 

Pope's Letters. A good selection may be found in Letters and 
Letter-Writers of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by H. Williams. 
London: Bell. New York : Harper. 1886. 

Pope's The Iliad of Homer, Books i, vi, xxii, and xxiv. Edited by 
W. H. Maxwell and P. Chubb. New York : Longmans. 1896. 



II. Life 



Stephen, Sir L. : Pope in English Men of Letters Series. London : 
Macmillan; New York • Harper. 1880. 

Courthope, W. J. : Life of Pope. Vol. v of Croker, Elwin, and 
CouKthope's edition of Pope's Works. London: Murray; New York: 
Scribner. 

106 



.. 



POPE 167 

Brief lives may be found in the following works : 

Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. 

Johnson, S. : Lives of the English Poets. 

De Quincey, T. : "Pope" in Works, vol. iv. 

Thackeray, W. M. : English Humourists. Works, vol. xiii. 

Birrell, A. : Obiter Dicta, Second Series. New York : Scribner. 
1887. 

Ward, A. W. : Introductory Memoir in the Globe edition. 

Spence, J. B. : Anecdotes, Observations, and Characters of Books 
and Men. A selection edited, with notes and introduction, by 
J. Underhill. London : W. Scott. 1890. Camelot Series. 

III. Criticism 

Stephen, Sir L. : "Pope as a Moralist," in Hours in a Library, 
vol. i. 

Sainte Beuve, C. A. : " Pope as a Poet," in English Portraits. New 
York : Holt. Translated from the Causeries de lundi. 

Lowell, J. B. : " Pope," in Literary Essays, vol. iv. 

Reading 

" The best way of learning to enjoy Pope is to get by heart the Epistle 
to Arbuthnot." — Stephen : Pope. 

The Rape of the Lock. 

Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, lines 1-40; 125-134; 193-214; 

219-230; 261-270; 406-419. 

Ode on Solitude. 

{Epistle II, " Of the Characters of Women." 
The rest of the Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. 
Eloisa to Abelard. 
An Essay on Criticism. 
An Essay on Man.'] 

To the Teacher. — It is especially recommended that the- last two 
poems, when not read entire, be apportioned in sections to students, who 
shall pick out the striking epigrams with which they are studded, and 
copy them on the board for the clivSS to enjoy. 

[Some of Pope's translation of Homer. Books i, vi, xxii, and xxiv 
of the Iliad were long included in the college entrance requirements.] 



168 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



Memory Passages 

Memorize your favorite couplets. Good sources are An 
Essay on Man, and An Essay on Criticism. Or you might 
consult Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. 

To the Teacher. — The order in which the writers of the Classic School 
are here taken up has been decided upon with reference not so much to 
the dates of birth as to the dates of the most important works assigned in 
the reading from each. To some extent, also, the order has been influ- 
enced by pedagogical considerations. For instance, The Rape of the Lock 
and the Spectator having appeared at about the same time, Pope is put 
before Addison and Steele, to bring together the study of the two great 
classic poets. 

Life and Character of Pope 

1. Prepare a table of five columns. In one set down the 
important events in the life of Pope. In another, insert 
those historical events in the table on pp. 152-153 which 
had a definite influence upon his life. Leave blank the re- 
maining columns, which are to be used later. As before, 
make the spacing proportionate to the passage of time. The 
dates in the completed table will range from 1667 to 1745. 

2. Point out the effects, good and bad, upon Pope's char- 
acter and upon his poetry, of the conditions of his home 
life ; and describe fully the results of the way he was treated 
by his relatives, both in childhood and during maturity. 

3. Trace the indirect effects (at least four) upon Pope's 

life and character of his being a Roman Catholic in that 

age of persecution of Roman Catholics. 

Give historical reasons why Roman Catholics were so treated at that 
time. 

4. Describe Pope's physical constitution and personal 
appearance. 

5. "We owe to the deformity of Pope's person the 



POPE 169 

inimitable beauties of his elaborate verse." 1 In what sense 
is this true ? Did the weakness of Pope's body have any 
bad effects upon his verse ? 

6. In what respects and to what extent do you consider 
Pope's unfortunate traits of character due to the state of his 
health? 

7. A person's looks sometimes have profound effects 
upon his disposition ; was this true in the case of Pope ? 

Pope thus describes himself in the The Guardian : " Dick Distich we 
have elected president, not only as he is the shortest of us all, but be- 
cause he has entertained so just a sense of his stature as to go generally 
in black, that he may appear yet less ; nay, to that perfection is he arrived 
that he stoops as he walks. The figure of the man is odd enough : He is 
a lively little creature with long arms and legs — a spider is no ill emblem 
of him; he has been taken at a distance for a small wind-mill." 

8. How did each of the factors in Pope's life which we 
have already discussed — home life, religion, physique — 
affect his education? 

9. Describe Pope's relations with his men friends. 
Among them were Swift, Addison, Dennis, Bolingbroke, 
Tickell, Gay, Colley Gibber, Phillips. 

10. Describe Pope's relations with his women friends — 
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Blounts, and others. 

11. " Lady Bolingbroke used to tell him that he played the poli- 
tician about cabbages and turnips ; and another of his lady friends 
accused him of not being able to drink tea without a stratagem." 2 

Tell anecdotes that illustrate this characteristic of Pope. 

12. Describe Pope's grounds and grotto at Twickenham 
(pronounced "Twiknam"). How are they characteristic of 
his taste ? 

See Pope's sonnet, On my Grotto at Tioickenham ; and description in 
Phillips's Popular Manual of English Literature, vol. i, pp. 462-466. The 
grotto still exists. 

1 1. Disraeli. 2 Cooke, G. W. : Memoirs of Lord Bolingbroke. 



170 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

13. Explain the following epithets applied to Pope, 
deciding upon the justice of each: 

a. " Paper-sparing Pope." 1 

b. " The wicked wasp of Twickenham." 2 

c. " Little affected hypocrite." 3 

d. " The portentous cub." 4 

e. " The little Nightingale." 5 

/. " The Ladies' plaything, and the Muses' pride." 6 

14. Why was it that, with so many hindrances of envi- 
ronment, health, and disposition, Pope became so great ? 

15. What was the strongest, most persistent, and most 
admirable of his qualities ? 

16. Do you agree with what Hazlitt says — or rather 
with what Hazlitt makes Lamb say — as to the enviableness 
of Pope, as expressed in the following passage : 

" ' Pope . . . reached the very beau-ideal of what a poet's life should 
be ; and his fame while living seemed to be an emanation from that 
which was to circle his name after death. He was so far enviable 
(and one would feel proud to have . witnessed the rare spectacle in 
him) that he was almost the only poet and man of genius who met 
with his reward on this side of the tomb, who realized in friends, 
fortune, the esteem of the world, the most sanguine hopes of a youth- 
ful ambition, and who found that sort of patronage from the great 
during his lifetime which they would be thought anxious to bestow 
upon him after his death. Read Gay's verses on him on his 
supposed return from Greece, after his translation of Homer was 
finished, and say if you would not gladly join the bright procession 
that welcomed him home, or see it once more land at Whitehall- 
stairs!'" 7 

1 Swift. 2 Lady Mary Wortiey Montagu. 

3 Dennis, in a pamphlet of criticism and abuse of Pope. 

4 Bentley. 5 Tom Southerne. 

6 Aaron Hill : The Progress of Wit. 

7 Hazlitt, W., Of Persons one would wish to have seen. Lamb is sup- 
posed to be speaking. 



POPE 171 

The Rape of the Lock 

17. Why is Tlie Rape of the Loch called an " occasional " 
poem ? Relate the circumstances which led Pope to write 
it. Give the real names of the different characters. Did 
the poem have the intended effect ? 

18. What does the poem show us about the society of 
Pope's day ? Make inferences about — 

a. Topics of conversation. 

b. Pursuits. 

c. Dress. 

d. Manners. 

e. Character of women. 
/. Character of men. 

g. Aims of fashionable people. 

After drawing deductions from the poem, test and supple- 
ment them by consulting Ashton and Sydney (see Tables 
of Contents). 

19. Dennis objected to the poem that it " wanted a 
moral/' and was therefore inferior to Boileau's Lutrin. 
Johnson, on the contrary, declared that it had a moral. 1 
Is he right? If so, show what the moral is. 

20. How well are the characters drawn — Belinda, the 
Baron, Sir Plume, etc. ? 

21. " The most glittering appearance is given to everything." 2 
Give illustrations of this. Why is this effect appropriate ? 

[22. Compare the sylphs of Pope's The Bape of the Lock with Shake- 
speare's fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream or The Tempest. 

23. What poem is supposed to have been Pope's model ? Give 
some account of this work.] 

1 Lives of the English Poets. 

2 Hazlitt : Lectures on the English Poets, 



172 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

24. How does the present version of TJie Rape of the Lock 
differ from the poem as it was first written ? 

[Do the changes, e.g., the addition of sylphs, improve the work ?] 

25. In a subtitle, Pope called TJie Rape of the Lock " An 
Heroi-Comical Poem." It is often described as " mock- 
heroic." Explain the appropriateness of these expressions. 

26. If you have read the JEneid, the Iliad, and Paradise 
Lost, you will be constantly reminded of things in these 
classics by similar passages in the poem. Make a list of 
such resemblances. Why did Pope introduce them into 
a poem on matters so trivial as getting dressed, playing 
cards, and stealing a lock of hair ? 

27. Can you see any reason why Pope should speak of 
a pair of scissors as a " two-edged weapon," " little engine," 
" glittering forfex " ? Find in the description of the coffee- 
making, and elsewhere, other examples of big words for 
little things, and explain the practice. 

28. " Addison pronounced it a delicious little thing ; ' merum sal.' 
Criticism the most hostile to Pope, of which there has "been an abun- 
dance in the modern reaction against his influence, has agreed to 
spare the Bape. Macaulay pronounces it his best poem. De Quincey, 
who never spares Pope when he is weak, goes beyond Macaulay, and 
declares it 4 the most exquisite monument of playful fancy that uni- 
versal literature offers.' ' The Bape of the Lock,' writes Hazlitt, '. . . 
is the most exquisite specimen of filigree work ever invented. . . . 
It is made of gauze and silver spangles. The most glittering appear- 
ance is given to everything, to paste, pomatum, billets-doux, and 
patches. Airs, languid airs, breathe around ; the atmosphere is per- 
fumed with affectation. A toilette is described with the solemnity of 
an altar raised to the goddess of vanity, and the history of a silver 
bodkin is given with all the pomp of heraldry. No pains are spared, 
no profusion of ornament, no splendor of poetic diction, to set off the 
meanest things. ... It is the triumph of insignificance, the apothe- 
osis of foppery and folly. It is the perfection of the mock-heroic' " * 

1 Pattison, M., in Ward : The English Poets. 



POPE 173 

Do you feel the charm which these critics evidently find 
in the poem ? 

[If you do, try to show in what it consists.] 

29. Collect from The Rape of the Lock and from the 

introductory letter all the passages in which Pope shows 

his opinion of women. Putting these passages with the 

following extracts from the second of his Moral Epistles, 

decide (1) how high an opinion he had of women ; (2) what 

specific charges (at least four) he made against them. Do 

you like the compliments he occasionally pays women ? 

Find any further evidence bearing on the question which 

you can discover. 

Is there any justification for these charges in the character of the 
society women of the day ? See histories, especially Knight's Popular 
History, vol. v, pp. 417 ff. Is there any reason why Pope should have 
been a prejudiced observer of women? 

a. " Nothing so true as what you once let fall, 

4 Most women have no character at all. ' 

Matter too soft a lasting mark to bear, 

And best distinguish'd by black, brown, or fair." 

b. " Come then, the colors and the ground prepare ! 

Dip in the rainbow, trick her off in air ; 

Choose a firm cloud before it fall, and in it 

Catch, ere she change, the Cynthia of this minute." 

c. " Ladies, like variegated tulips, show ; 

'Tis to their changes half their charms we owe." 

d. " Narcissa's nature, tolerably mild, 

To make a wash would hardly stew a child ; 
Has ev'n been prov'd to grant a lover's prayer, 
And paid a tradesman once to make him stare." 

e. " Woman and fool are two things hard to hit ; 

For true No-meaning puzzles more than Wit." 

/. u In men, we various Ruling Passions find ; 
In women, two almost divide the kind ; 



174 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Those, only fix'd, they first and last obey, 
The love of Pleasure, and the love of Sway." 

g, " Beauties, like tyrants, old and friendless grown, 
Yet hate repose, and dread to be alone ; 
Worn out in public, weary ev'ry eye, 
Nor leave one sigh behind them when they die." 

h. " And yet believe me, good as well as ill, 
Woman's at best a contradiction still." 

Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot 

30. Who was Dr. Arbuthnot? What did Swift say 
of him? 

See Dictionary of National Biography. 

31. Explain the biographical references in the poem. 

32. Does the poem win your sympathy for the author ? 

33. Notice any satirical passages. Is the ridicule more 
or less cutting than that of Dryden ? 

The Poems in General 

34. Copy into your notebook several pages of familiar 
quotations from Pope. 

35. Make a list, as nearly complete as possible, of the 
subjects upon which Pope thought and wrote. Upon what 
themes does he never touch ? 

[36. Can you find in An Essay on Man a consistent philosophy ? 
In what does the greatest value of the poem consist ? 

37. In Pope's An Essay on Criticism, does he speak more of thought, 
or of expression ? In his poems in general, is the following criticism 
just ? " He did not write because he thought, but thought in order 
to write." * 

38. Pope prided himself on being a " correct " poet. What did he 
mean by the term ? Does it apply to him ? 

i Taine. 



POPE 175 

39. Can you find in Pope couplets that could be worded more 
briefly ? Give examples of terseness or of the opposite. 

40. Are the terms used more often abstract or concrete ? 

41. Of the concrete terms, are there more that are general, or more 
that are specific ? 

42. How fresh and varied are the expressions employed ? 

43. Pind examples of circumlocution; e.g., " the shining leather 
that encased the limb." 

44. Illustrate Pope's use of personification. 

45. Do you notice any tendency toward symmetry in the use of 
adjectives ? 

46. Where are the pauses, and why are they so placed ? 

47. Characterize the sound of the verse. 

48. Compare the verse of Pope with that of Dryden in the following 
respects : (a) regularity, (6) precision of wording, (c) conciseness, 
(d) antithesis, (e) brilliancy, (/) sound. In illustration of each 
point adduce definite examples from the two poets. 

49. In what ways does Pope show himself a student of Dryden' s 
poetry ? In what respects, if any, does he excel his teacher ? And 
in what ways, if any, does he fall below him ? 

50. How does the heroic couplet of The Rape of the Look differ 
from that of Browning's My Last Duchess ? Here is an extract from 
the latter poem : 

"... She had 
A heart — how shall I say ? — too soon made glad, 
Too easily impressed ; she liked whate'er 
She looked on, and her looks went everywhere. 
Sir, 'twas all one ! My favor at her breast, 
The dropping of the daylight in the West, 
The bough of cherries some officious fool 
Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule 
She rode with round the terrace — all and each 
Would draw from her alike the approving speech, 
Or blush, at least. She thanked men, — good! but thanked 
Somehow — I know not how — as if she ranked 
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name 
With anybody's gift." 

51. Was Pope's verse a suitable medium for the things he had to 
say ? Explain. 



176 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

52. Explain the following criticisms of Pope : 

a. " He was the poet of personality and of polished life." * 

b. "He did in some not inadequate sense hold the mirror up to nature. 
. . . His poetry . . . was a mirror in a drawing-room, but it gave back a 
faithful image of society, powdered and rouged, to be sure, and intent on 
trifles, yet still as human in its own way as the heroes of Homer in theirs. " 2 

c. " He is, in my opinion, the most elegant, the most correct poet; and 
at the same time the most harmonious, that England ever gave birth 
to." 3 

Why is this a natural opinion for a Frenchman ? 

d. " Great moral poet of all times, of all climes, of all feelings, and of 
all stages of existence." 4 

e. " Thus we are always pursued, in reading Pope, by disagreeable 
misgivings. We don't know what comes from the heart, and what from 
the lips; when the real man is speaking, and when we are only listening 
to old commonplaces skilfully vamped." 6 ] 

53. Do you, or do you not, share the point of view in 
regard to Pope and his writings expressed by Mr. Dobson 
in the following extracts from his poem, A Dialogue to the 
Memory of Mr. Alexander Pope 9 

[In what respects and to what degree is his imitation of Pope's 
verse successful ?] 

" No : I prefer to look on Pope as one 
Not rightly happy till his Life was done ; 
Whose whole Career, romance it as you please, 
Was (what he calPd it) but a ' long Disease ' : 
Think of his Lot, — his Pilgrimage of Pain, 
His ' crazy Carcass ■ and his restless Brain ; 
Think of his Night-Hours with their Feet of Lead, 
His dreary Vigil and his aching Head ; 
Think of all this, and marvel then to find 
The i crooked Body with a crooked Mind ! ' 
Nay rather, marvel that, in Fate's Despite, 
You find so much to solace and delight, — 

1 Hazlitt : Lectures on the English Poets. 2 Lowell : " Pope." 

3 Voltaire : Letters Concerning the English Nation. 

4 Byron : Second Letter on Bowies' Strictures on the Life and Writings 
of Pope. 5 Stephen, Sir L. : Hours in a Library. 



POPE 177 

So much of Courage and of Purpose high 

In that unequal Struggle not to die. 

I grant you freely that Pope played his Part 

Sometimes ignobly — but he loved his Art ; 

I grant you freely that he sought his Ends 

Not always wisely — but he lov'd his Friends ; 

And who of Friends a nobler Roll could show' — 

Swift, St. John, Bathurst, Marchmont, Peterbro' — 

* * * * * * * 

Suppose you say your worst of Pope, declare 
His Jewels Paste, his Nature a Parterre, 
His Art but Artifice — I ask once more 
Where have you seen such Artifice before ? 
Where have you seen a Parterre better graced, 
Or Gems that glitter like his Gems of Paste ? 
Where can you show, among your Names of Note, 
So much to copy and so much to quote ? 
And where, in Fine, in all our English Yerse, 
A Style more trenchant and a Sense more terse ? 

So I, that love the old Augustan Days 
Of formal Courtesies and formal Phrase ; 
That like along the finish' d Line to feel 
The Ruffle's Flutter and the Flash of Steel ; 
That like my Couplet as Compact as Clear ; 
That like my Satire sparkling tho' severe, 
Unmix' d with Bathos and unmarr'd by Trope, 
I fling my Cap for Polish — and for Pope ! " 

Essay Subjects 

" . . . Pope's chief service as a poet was that he taught men to write 
good prose. . . . The young practitioner . . . may learn, if he will, what 
it is to he correct without being tiresome ; to be sensible without being 
dull and trite ; to be fanciful and suggestive without being whimsical and 
extravagant. He may fail of brilliancy and wit in his expression ; but he 
may well have learned how to lend to the commonplace an air of novelty 
and interest, and to give to what thoughts he has, be they new or old, 
good or poor, the charms of happy conciseness, ease, and elegance.'' 
— Maxwell and Chubb: Introduction. 



178 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

♦ Imaginative 

1. The childhood of Belinda. 
See the Spectator; Knight; Lecky. 

2. Description of a pantomime in several scenes based on 
TJie Rape of the Lock. 

3. A dialogue based on the description of the card party 
in The Rape of the Lock. 

To the Teacher. — Either of these two might be staged by the class. 
Such a representation would greatly increase the appreciation of the poem 
by the students. Each scene of a pantomime might be preceded by the 
reading of the corresponding passage of the poem. 

A short story based on an episode in Pope's life. Sug- 
gestions as to suitable episodes follow : 

4. How, as a boy, he conceived his great ambition, the 
plot culminating in the success of the Pastorals when Pope 
was sixteen. Bring in Pope's father, Walch, Wycherley, 
and perhaps others. 

5. Attacks of critics, leading up to Pope's revenge in The 
Dunciad. Get real names, and any characterization you 
can of each. 

6. Pope and Martha Blount. 

7. Pope and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. 

8. Scene at a coffee-house either at the time of the 
appearance of TJie Rape of the Lock, or just 'after Pope's 
death. There might be present Addison, Steele, Swift, and 
others. 

9. Account of Swift by a servant. 

10. An interview with Pope at Twickenham. 

11. Pope on some social occasion, as described by a 
fellow-guest. 



POPE 179 

Expository 

"E'en copious Dryden wanted, or forgot, 

The last and greatest art, — the art to blot." 

— Pope: Essay on Criticism. 
" Words are like leaves ; and where they most abound, 

Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found." — Ibid. 

12. Was Pope a poet ? 

13. Secrets of the charm of TJie Rape of the Lock. 

14. Pope's relations with his women friends. 

15. Pope's opinions on women. 

16. Pope's relations with his men friends, 

17. The society depicted in The Rape of the Lock. 

18. The personality of Pope. 

Take some one aspect of him, as, " He should be judged tenderly, 
because — "; "The indomitable will through which he attained — " etc. 

19. Pope as a friend. 

20. Pope as a man of letters. 

21. Did Pope "hold the mirror up to nature " ? 

22. Compare the sylphs, in character and office, with the 
fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

23. Do you agree with Buskin that " Pope is the most 
perfect representation since Chaucer of the true English 
mind " ? 1 

24. Pope's life, as gathered from biographical references 
in his poems. 

See especially the Epistles. 

25. The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot as Pope's apologia. 2 

26. Compare Pope's Iliad with the translation of Chap- 
man or Bryant. The prose translation of Butcher and Lang 
follows the Greek closely. Examples of passages that may 
be used as a basis of comparison are : 

(1) The parting of Hector and Andromache : vi. 462 ff. 
1 Quoted by Lowell from "an Oxford lecture." 2 Stephen. 



180 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(2) The fight of Hector and Achilles : xxii. 173 ff. 

(3) The petition of Priam : xxiv. 584 ff. 

(4) The funeral of Hector : xxiv. S66 ff . 

Note (a) what is omitted and what is added by each of the 
translators; (6) what sort of words are used by each to 
render the same expression ; (c) how successful each is in 
rendering passages that are domestic, warlike, pathetic, etc. ; 
(d) in what each excels; (e) which you personally prefer, 
and why. 

Verse in the Heroic Couplet 

"This [An Essay on Ma?i] I might have done in prose; but I chose 
verse, and even rhyme, for two reasons. The one will appear obvious; 
that principles, maxims, or precepts, so written, both strike the reader 
more strongly at first, and are more easily retained by him afterwards ; 
the other may seem odd, but it is true ; I found I could express them more 
shortly in this way than in prose itself ; and nothing is more certain than 
that much of the force as well as grace of arguments or instructions 
depends on their conciseness." — Pope : An Essay on Man, " The Design." 

1. Character sketch : 

Study the examples by Dryden and Pope which you have read. 

a. Anne. 

b. " Queen Sarah." 

c. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. 

See her letters, edited by J. S. Hale ; essay by W. Bagehot : Literary 
Studies, vol. i. 

d. Samuel Pepys. 

See p. 133; also Stevenson, R. L. : Familiar Studies of Men and Books. 

e. Any author of that day. 
For other names, see p. 208. 

2. A scene from the eighteenth century : 

a. The Battle of Blenheim. 
See Addison's Campaign. 

b. Interview between Queen Anne and "Queen 

Sarah." 



POPE 181 

3. A description of 

a. A sundial. 

b. An old-time formal garden. 

c. Pope's estate at Twickenham. 

d. A coffee-house. 

4. A rhymed version of 

a. Swift's The Battle of the Books. 

b. Swift's A Tale of a Tub. 

c. Addison's The Vision of Mirzah. 

d. The Book of Proverbs, xxxi. 10-31. 

5. A paraphrase of some well-known poem, e.g. : 

Longfellow's A Psalm of Life. 

6. A ceremony, e.g. : 

a. The coronation of King Edward VII. 

b. An afternoon tea. 

c. Some school function. 

d. A mock wedding. 

7. Other subjects : 

a. A conceited man in society. 

b. An awkward man in society. 

c. A local quarrel about a trifle. 

d. Advice on theme-writing. 

e. The mugwump. 



CHAPTER XIV 

ADDISON AND STEELE 

" The Spectator, Steele-and-Addison's Spectator, is a monument befitting 
the most memorable friendship in our history." 

— Morley: Introduction to The Spectator. 

Bibliography 

ADDISON 
I. Works 

The Spectator. Edited by H. Morley. London : Routledge. 1891. 
Many other editions. 

Complete. Gives the original text. Print rather fine. 

Selections from Addison's Papers in the Spectator. Edited by 
T. Arnold. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 

II. Life and Criticism 

Courthope, W. J. : Addison. London : Macmillan ; New York : 
Harper. English Men of Letters Series. 1884. 
Interesting brief accounts of his life : 
Thackeray, T. M. : English Humorists. Works, vol. xiii. 
Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. 
Johnson, S. : Lives of the English Poets. 
Macaulay, T. B. : Essays. 
Stephen, Sir L. : Dictionary of National Biography. 

STEELE 

I. Works 

See under Addison. 

Selections from Steele, being papers from the Tatler, Spectator, and 
Guardian. Edited by A. Dobson. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 

182 



ADDISON AND STEELE 183 

Selections from the Works of Sir Biehard Steele. Edited by G. R. 
Carpenter. Boston : Ginn. Athenaeum Press Series. 

II. Life 

Dobson, A. : Biehard Steele. London : Longmans. English 
Worthies Series. 1886. 

Aitken, G. A. : The Life of Biehard Steele. 2 vols. London : 
W. Isbister. 1889. 

Brief accounts : 

Thackeray, W. M. : English Humorists. 

Minto, W. : Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

Dobson, A. : Dictionary of National Biography. 

Reading 

Except those marked "Steele," the papers assigned are 
by Addison. 

TJie Spectator : 

No. 1 41 (Steele) 112 125 335 

2 (Steele) 49 (Steele) 113 (Steele) 126 381 

10 98 115 130 383 

12 106 117 131 476 

26 107 (Steele) 118 (Steele) 159 494 

34 108 119 269 517 

37 110 122 329 574 

Memory Passage 

The Spectator, No. 26, from "When I look upon the 
Tombs of the Great," to the end. 

Lives of Addison and Steele 

" No whiter page than Addison remains." — Pope : Satires. 

1. To the table prepared while studying Pope, add, in 
two separate columns, the chief events in the lives of Addi- 



184 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

son and Steele. Insert in the historical column any facts 
which, though not needed for understanding the life of Pope, 
had an influence on the lives of these other men. 

2. When did Addison and Steele first meet ? Describe 
the two as they were at that time. 

3. "Addison was fortunate in that incomparably important edu- 
cation which assails a child through every sense, and above all through 
the imagination — in the atmosphere of a home, frugal in its service 
to the body, but prodigal in its ministry to the spirit." x 

Explain. 

4. Point out contrasting factors in the youth of Addison 
and of Steele which would naturally cause them to develop 
differently. 

5. Trace the effects of the friendship between Addison 
and Steele upon the works and character of each. 

6. Describe the Kit-Cat Club. Why was it so named ? 
Who were the members ? Give some account of the pro- 
ceedings. 

7. What public offices were held by Addison? How 
well did he succeed as a statesman ? Explain causes. 

8. What was the first English newspaper, and when 
was it issued ? 

9. What was the Toiler 9 Which of the two friends 
started it ? What part in the writing had the other ? What 
was its avowed object ? 

It was expressed in the following words of the dedication of vol. i : " To 
expose the false Arts of Life, to pull off the Disguises of Cunning, Vanity, 
and Affectation, and to recommend a general Simplicity in our Dress, our 
Discourse, and our Behavior." 

10. Why was the Tatler discontinued, and the Spectator 

substituted for it? How was the aim of the later paper 

♦ 
1 Mabie, H. W., in Library of the World's Best Literature. 



ADDISON AND STEELE 185 

similar to that of the earlier? In what respects did the 
two papers differ ? 

11. How did the popularity of the Spectator appear after 
the passing of the Stamp Act ? 

12. Infer from the following extracts (1) how great was 
Addison's personal popularity ; and (2) upon what causes it 
was based. 

a. "I have often reflected, after a night spent with him apart 
from all the world, that I had had the pleasure of conversing with an 
intimate acquaintance of Terence and Catullus, who had all their wit 
and nature heightened with humor, more exquisite and delightful than 
any other man ever possessed." 1 

b. Addison . . . had something in his conversation more charming 
than I ever knew in any other man." 2 

c. "It was my fate to be much with the wits ; my father was 
acquainted with them all. Addison was the best company in the 
world." 3 

d. " After full inquiry and impartial reflection, we have long been 
convinced that he deserved as much love and esteem as can be justly 
claimed by any of our infirm and erring race." 4 

13. Report: Coffee-houses. 

See Ashton : Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, ch. xviii. 

14. Addison's marriage. 

15. The quarrel between Addison and Steele. 

16. Which of Pope's descriptions of Addison is nearer 
the truth — the one in the Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, or this 
one in the Epistle. To Mr. Addison : 

" Statesman, yet friend to truth ; of soul sincere, 
In action faithful, and in honor clear ; 
Who broke no promise, serv'd no private end, 
Who gained no title, and who lost no friend." 
See also motto, p. 183. 

1 Steele: Letter to Mr.Congreve. 2 Spence. Ascribed to Pope. 

3 Spence. Ascribed to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. 4 Macaulay : Essays. 



188 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

17. Which do you personally prefer as a man — Addison 
or Steele ? Why ? 

18. Thackeray calls Addison's life one of the most envi- 
able. For this he gives four reasons. What should you 
suppose them to be ? 

The Spectator 

19. From Spectators 10, 34, and 58 choose extracts set- 
ting forth the aims of the editors. State these aims in 
your own words. 

20. To see why such a crusade as is announced in 
these papers was needed, one must remember the history 
of England in the later seventeenth century. What were 
the causes, first under the restored Stuarts, and later when 
the Revolution had banished them " across the water/' 
which resulted in corrupt politics, frivolous social life, and 
an almost universal lack of the finer and more elevated 
feelings ? 

21. What characteristics of the time made it likely that 
such a venture as the Spectator would be a success ? 

22. What was the circulation of the Spectator ? 

23. Group the essays under several main heads: as, 
(1) literary criticism. How would each group help toward 
the end proposed ? 

24. Notice the subjects taken up in the papers of any one 
fortnight. Is skill shown in choice and arrangement ? 

25. In the papers assigned, or in others, how many dif- 
ferent things can you find of which the Spectator has " made 
an example " ? 

26. How would Addison's personal character and reputa- 
tion help toward the desired result ? 

27. Each one of the following extracts states or exempli- 
fies one or more of the methods used by the Spectator to 



ADDISON AND STEELE 187 

gain the ends proposed. Show what these methods are, 
and decide upon the wisdom of using each. 

a. "I have very long entertained an Ambition to make the Word 
Wife the most agreeable and delightful Name in Nature." 1 

b. "I have observed the fair Circle not a little pleased to find you 
considering them as reasonable Creatures, and endeavoring to banish 
that 31ahometan Custom, which had too much prevailed even in this 
Island, of treating Women as if they had no Souls. I must do them 
the Justice to say, that there seems to be nothing wanting to the fin- 
ishing of these lovely Pieces of Human Nature, besides the turning 
and applying their Ambition properly, and the keeping them up to a 
Sense of what is their true Merit. ' ' 2 

c. " I think it very wonderful to see Persons of the best Sense 
passing away a dozen hours together in shuffling and dividing a Pack 
of Cards, with no other Conversation but what is made up of a few 
Game Phrases, and no other ideas but those of black or red Spots 
ranged together in different Figures. Would not a man laugh to hear 
any one of this species complaining that life is short ? " 3 

d. "I must confess, were I left to myself, I should rather aim at 
instructing than diverting ; but if we will be useful to the World, we 
must take it as we find it." 4 

e. "This worthy Knight, being then but a Stripling, had occasion 
to inquire which was the Way to St. Anne's Lane ; upon which the 
person whom he spoke to, instead of answering his Question, called 
him a young Popish Cur, and asked him who had made Anne a Saint? 
The Boy, being in some Confusion, enquired of the next he met, which 
was the Way to Anne's Lane ; but was called a prick-eared Cur for 
his Pains, and instead of being shewn the Way, was told that she had 
been a Saint before he was born, and would be one after he was 
hanged. ' Upon this,' says Sir Roger, ' I did not think fit to repeat 
the former Questions, but going into every Lane of the Neighborhood, 
asked what they called the Name of that Lane ? ' By which ingenious 
Artifice he found out the Place he enquired after, without giving offence 
to any Party. Sir Roger generally closes this Narrative with reflections 
on the Mischief that Parties do in the Country ; how they spoil a good 
Neighborhood and make honest Gentlemen hate one another." 5 

1 Steele. 2 Ibid. A pretended letter to the Spectator. 

3 Addison. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 



188 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

28. What is the use of the mottoes prefixed to the papers ? 

29. " Addison corrects failings by showing their absurdity; he 
does not smite the erring with a flail ; he takes them cordially by the 
hand, puts them in the straight path of morals, and sends them on 
their way with a compliment." 1 

Do you agree with this opinion ? Illustrate. 

30. What was the result of Addison's crusade ? See 
quotations that follow. 

a. " He has dissipated the prejudice that has long connected gayety 
and vice, and easiness of manner with laxity of principles. He has re- 
stored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed." 2 

b. "Of the services which his essays rendered to morality it is dif- 
ficult to speak too highly. . . . Since his time, the open violation of 
decency among us has always been considered among us as the mark 
of a fool." 3 

c. "It is no small thing to make morality fashionable. Addison 
did it, and it remained in fashion." 4 

31. What papers or magazines nowadays issue series of 
articles similar in subject and tone to the essays in the 
Spectator ? How do they differ from the essays of Addison 
and Steele ? 

32. Is No. 1 of the Spectator autobiographical ? Why 
is the Spectator represented as so grave? Why, as so 
experienced a traveler ? Why, as a frequenter of public 
places ? Why, as a neutral in politics ? 

33. What proportion of the Spectator was written by 
Addison ? By Steele ? By others ? 

See Table of Contents. 

34. What do Leonora's books show us about her character 
and tastes ? First classify the books. 

Note also the paragraph preceding the list. 

1 Lyall, W. 3 Macaulay: Essays. 

2 Johnson : Lives of the English Poets. 4 Taine. 



ADDISON AND STEELE 189 

35. What other ways does Addison take to show Leonora's 
character ? How ' does the paper contribute toward the 
general purpose of the Spectator ? 

36. What opinions did the Spectator express in regard to 

a. Witchcraft. 

b. Party spirit. 

c. Current fashions. 

d. Card-playing. 

e. Ghosts. 

/. The bringing up of children. 

How does it fit his purpose to discuss each of these subjects ? 

37. Upon what subjects does the Spectator grow warm, 
excited, or passionate ? Explain the significance of your 
answer. 

38. Collect examples of the humor of Addison. Compare 
it with the humor of Mark Twain, and with that of any 
other humorous writer. 

[What are the characteristics of Addison's humor ?] 

39. What do we learn from the Spectator about the sur- 
roundings and manners and customs of Queen Anne's time — 
coffee-houses, travel, dress, daily routine, manners, social 
gatherings, etc. ? 

40. Does the picture agree with that found in The Rape 
of the Lock ? 

[41. How would the papers on Sir Roger and the other club mem- 
bers help to prepare the way for the novel ? 

42. Is the style of the Spectator adapted to the purpose of the 
periodical? Explain.] 

43. " I thought the writing [of the Spectator^ excellent, and wished, 
if possible, to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers, 
and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them 
by for a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try'd to 
compleat the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at 



190 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable 
words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with 
the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them." 1 

Here are such " short hints " based on a paragraph of six 
sentences by Addison. From them, without looking at the 
original, construct six sentences that shall follow Addison's 
style as closely as you can make them. Would Addison 
make one sentence of I (a)-(6) ? If not, where would he 
divide his material ? How would he arrange the parts of 
the sentences in III ? What likeness of form would he give 
the parallel statements in I and III ? What variety of ex- 
pression ? Compare the result of your work with the first 
paragraph of a certain one of the first thirty Spectators. 
I. Letters received, asking me to preach against 

(a) Muff; 

(b) pair of silver Garters ; 

(c) fringed Gloves ; 

(d) most Ornaments of either Sex. 

II. Intention announced, 

(a) not to sink Dignity of Paper with reflections 

upon [examples of fashions], 

(b) to correct w r hat give Birth to such Extrava- 

gancies, i.e., 

(1) Passions of Mind ; 

(2) depraved Sentiments. 

III. Explanation : 

[Adjectives] Ornaments not criminal, only Indications of 
Vice. Take away Vanity, and you take away Superfluities. 
Take away Eoot, and you take away Blossoms. 

[44. Compare the style of the essays by Steele with that of the 
essays by Addison. Which essays are more conversational ? Which 

1 Franklin, B. : Autobiography. 



ADDISON AND STEELE 191 

are more polished ? Which show greater intensity of feeling ? Which 
are more humorous ? 

45. Fill in the gaps in the comparisons below : 

a. " seems to have gone into his closet chiefly to set down what 

he observed out of doors. seems to have spent most of his time in his 

study, and to have spun out and wire-drawn the hints, which he borrowed 
from , or took from nature, to the utmost. . . . The humorous descrip- 
tions of resemble loose sketches, or fragments of a comedy ; those of 

are rather comments or ingenious paraphrases on tiie genuine text." 1 

b. " There was an amount of nerve and, if we may be allowed a vul- 
garity, ' go,' about which never had." 2 

c. " 's humor is distinguished from 's chiefly by two circum- 
stances, — unaffected geniality and heartiness, and less delicate elabora- 
tion. . . . is sketchy and rude, and mars the portraiture with patches 

of moralizing. fills in the minute touches with his most exquisite 

skill." s 

46. Which of the following extracts are by Addison, and which by 
Steele ? Justify your opinion. 

a. "As for my part, I ever esteemed a drunkard of all vicious persons 
the most vicious. ... If a man considers that he cannot, under the 
oppression of Drink, be a Friend, a Gentleman, a Master, or a Subject; 
that he has so long banished himself from all that is dear, and given up 
all that is sacred to him ; he would even then think of a Debauch with 
Horror." 

b. " Whereas Bridget Howd'ye, late servant to the Lady Fardingale, a 
short, thick, lively, hard-favored Wench of about twenty-nine Years of Age, 
her eyes small and bleared, and Nose very broad at bottom and turning up 
at the End, her Mouth wide and Lips of an unusual thickness, two Teeth 
out before, the rest black and uneven, the Tip of her left Ear being of a 
mouse color, her Voice loud and shrill, quick of Speech, and something of 
a Welsh Accent, withdrew herself on Wednesday last from her Ladyship's 
Dwelling-house, and with the help of her Consorts, carried off the follow- 
ing Goods of her said Lady." 

c. "A third kind of female Orators may be comprehended under the 
Word Gossips. Mrs. Fiddle-Faddle is perfectly accomplished in this kind 
of Eloquence ; she launches out into Descriptions of Christenings, runs 
Divisions upon a Head-dress, knows every dish of Meat that is served up 
in her Neighborhood, and entertains her Company a whole Afternoon 
together with the wit of her little Boy, before he is able to speak." 

i Hazlitt, W. 2 Kingsley , C. 3 Minto, W. 



192 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

47. How does Addison's style differ from that of his predecessor, 
Dryden ? 

48. " His style, with its [three groups of characteristics are enu- 
merated] what are these but the reflection of Addison himself ? " 1 

Fill in the gap, to the best of your ability. 

49. Are Addison's sentences, as a rule, loose or periodic in struc- 
ture ?] 

Essay Subjects 

"Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, 
and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the 
volumes of Addison." 2 

What characteristics of Addison's style make it an excel- 
lent model for young writers ? What things do you per- 
sonally intend to emulate ? 

Fiction 

"Addison wrote his papers as gayly as if he were going out for a 
holiday." — Thackeray. 

Scenes between Steele and Addison. Make the dialogue 
the chief thing, slipping in, however, enough description of 
persons and setting, and enough account of action to keep 
the picture vividly before us. 

' 1. At the Charterhouse school. 

2. After Addison's return from abroad. 

3. . Such a scene as is suggested by Thackeray in the fol- 
lowing passage : 

"Could not some painter give an interview between the gallant 
captain of Lucas's, with his hat cocked, and his lace, and his face too, 
a trifle tarnished with drink, and that poet, that philosopher, pale, 
proud, and poor, his friend and monitor of schooldays, of all days ? 
How Dick must have bragged about his chances and his hopes, and 
the fine company he kept, and the charms of the reigning toasts and 

1 Green. 2 Johnson : Lives of the English Poets. 



ADDISON AND STEELE 193 

popular actresses, and the number of bottles that he and my lord and 
some other pretty fellows had cracked over night at the 'Devil' or the 
4 Garter ' ! Cannot one fancy Joseph Addison's calm smile and cold 
gray eyes following Dick for an instant, as he struts down the Mall, 
to dine with the Guard at St. James's before he turns with his sober 
face and threadbare suit, to walk back to his lodgings up the two 
pairs of stairs ? " * 

4. Scene in which they decide to stop the Tatler and 
make plans for the Spectator. 

5. Addison helping Steele out of a scrape. 

6. The qnarrel between Steele and Addison. 

7. A meeting of the Kit-Cat Clnb. What shall the 
members discnss ? 

8. Choose the members of a club which may represent 
the different phases of our American life to-day as the club 
of the Spectator represented the life of England in the Age 
of Anne. For example, there must be a journalist ; Mr. 
Dooley might represent the immigrants, etc. Write a paper 
parallel to No. 2 of the Spectator, describing this modern 
club. 

Write papers for a Spectator of to-day. What evils need 
uprooting ? What absurdities need to be ridiculed ? What 
interests has our age of which an up-to-date Spectator would 
take account? The following subjects are given only as 
suggestive examples. Adopt the methods of Addison, and 
if you wish, imitate his style. 

9. Some fashion in women's dress or in the arrangement 
of their hair. 

10. The importance of forest reserves. 

11. The civilizing influence of the telephone. 

12. Yellow journalism. 

13. Strikes. 

1 English Humorists. 



194 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

14. Railroad rate legislation. 

15. The preservation of the beauty of Niagara. 

16. The simple life. 

17. The Wright brothers. . 

18. The automobile. 

19. Mr. Burbank's new fruits and flowers. 

20. The " third degree/' 

21. Picture postal cards. 
[22. Psychotherapy.] 

23. Let the Spectator conduct Sir Roger into some scene 
of our world to-day ; e.g., 

a. A railroad station and train. 

b. An electric car. 

c. A public library. 

d. Wall Street. 

e. Newport. 

/. A millionaire's house. • 

g. Congress during a debate. 
h. A great factory. 

24. Let Sir Roger, ill, be attended by a Christian Science 
healer. 

Exposition" 

25. Addison as a citizen. 

26. Addison as literary dictator. 

27. The scholarship of Addison. 

28. The ambition of Addison. 

29. Addison and his friends. 

30. The character of Steele. 

31. Comparison of the characters of Addison and Steele. 

32. Steele as a friend of Addison. 

33. Addison as a friend of Steele. 



ADDISON AND STEELE 195 

34. The results of the friendship between Addison and 
Steele. 

35. The achievement of Addison. 

36. Eelations between Addison and Pope. 

37. The means used by the Spectator to "make morality 
fashionable." 

38. Sir Roger as a means of producing humor. 

[39. The pedagogical value of Addison's methods of influencing 
the age. 

40. Comparison of the styles of Steele and Addison.] 



CHAPTER XV 

SWIFT 

"The prince of English satirists." — Minto, W. : Manual of English 
Prose Literature. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

Swift. Selections from his Works. Edited with Life, Introduc- 
tion, and Notes, by H. Craik. 2 vols. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1892. 

The Tale of a Tub, and Other Works. Edited by H. Morley. Lon- 
don : Routledge. Carisbrooke Library. 

Gulliver's Travels (as above). 

Journal to Stella. Edited by G. A. Aitken. New York : Putnam. 
1901. 

II. Biography and Criticism 

Stephen, Sir L. : Swift. London : Macniillan ; New York : Harper. 
English Men of Letters Series. 

Craik, H. : Life of Jonathan Swift. New edition. 2 vols. 1894. 

Collins, J. C. : Jonathan Swift ; A Biograjihical and Critical Study. 
London : Chatto. 1893. 

Interesting very brief lives may be found as follows : 

Thackeray, T. M. : English Humorists. Works, vol. xiii. 

Johnson, S. : Lives of the English Poets. 

Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. 

Birrell, A.: Essays about Men, Women, and Books. London: 
Stock ; New York : Scribner. 1894. 

Craik, H. : Biographical account in the Clarendon Press edition. 

Reading 

Gulliver's Travels: 

I. A Voyage to Lilliput. 
II. A Voyage to Brobdingnag, ch. i 
196 



SWIFT 197 

III. A Voyage to Laputa, ch. v. 

IV. A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhms, chs. i, ii. 
The Tale of a Tub, ii, iv, vi, xi. 

{Journal to Stella, i-vii. 

Argument against abolishing Christianity in England. 

The Battle of Books.'] 

Life of Swift 

1. To the table prepared while* studying Pope, add the 
important facts relating to Swift. As before, insert in their 
places any additional historical events that affected the life 
of this writer. 

2. Which of all the writers now included in the table 
was born the earliest ? The latest ? Who was last to die ? 
W r ho lived the longest ? How far were these men contem- 
poraries during their years of literary productivity ? 

3. Archbishop King called Swift "the most unhappy 
man on earth." Scott said, "He was never known to 
laugh." * He kept his birthday as a fast day, because he 
regretted that he had ever been born. Point out all the 
facts in his life that might have tended to make him 
unhappy. 

4. Was this unhappiness altogether due to circum- 
stances ? Suppose Swift had changed places with Addison, 
would he have been happy ? W T ould Addison, in Swift's 
place, have been as unhappy as he ? 

5. Had Swift's health any bearing on the question of 
his unhappiness ? Explain these words of his own : " I 
shall be like that tree; I shall die at the top." Tell the 
story, and draw conclusions bearing on this topic. 

6. Were there elements in Swift's character that would 
have prevented him from being happy in any earthly lot ? 

1 Memoirs of Jonathan Swift. 



198 STUDY BOOK IN" ENGLISH LITERATURE 

7. " Swift's seems to me to be as good a name to point a 
moral or adorn a tale of ambition, as any hero's that ever 
lived and failed." 1 Explain. 

8. Taking the following expressions of Swift into con- 
sideration, is the word unhappy strong enough to express his 
habitual mood ? Find the appropriate term. 

a. "Happiness ... is a perpetual possession of being well de- 
ceived." 2 

b. " The bulk of mankind is as well qualified for flying as for think- 
ing." 3 

c. " When you think of the world, give it one lash the more at my 
request." 4 

d. " [Man] is the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that 
nature ever suffered to crawl on the face of the earth." 5 

9. "As fierce a beak and talon as ever struck — as strong a wing 
as ever beat, belonged to Swift. I am glad, for one, that fate wrested 
the prey out of his claws, and cut his wings and chained him." 6 

Do you agree with Thackeray ? or does the following 
opinion seem to you more just ? 

"Judgment of him ... is as little in place as judgment of a giant 
forest oak, twisted and wrenched by the lightning of Jove." 

10. Discuss Swift's conduct in each of the following rela- 
tions : 

a. In his relation to Sir William Temple. 

b. In his relation to his work as clergyman. 

c. In his relation to politics. 

d. In his relation to Stella. 

e. In his relation to Vanessa. 
/. In his relation to Ireland. 

11. What were Swift's principal works ? Give some ac- 
count of the occasion and of the substance of each. 

1 Thackeray: English Humorists. 2 A Tale of a Tub. 

3 Mr. Collins' Discourse of Free Thinking. 4 Letter to Pope. 

5 Gulliver's Travels. 6 Thackeray : English Humorists. 



SWIFT 199 

12. Are the following claims Swift makes for himself 
true? 

" He never courted men in station 

Nor persons held in admiration ; 
Of no man's greatness was afraid, 
Because he sought for no man's aid. 
Though trusted long in great affairs, 
He gave himself no haughty airs." 1 

13. Lord Bolingbroke called Swift a " hypocrite reversed." 
Explain. 

Works of Swift 

Gulliver's Travels 

" One of the very few books some knowledge of which may be fairly 
assumed in any one who reads anything." 

— Stephen, Sir L. : English Men of Letters Series. 

14. Why should Gulliver's Travels be so popular both with 
children and with worldly old ladies such as " Queen Sarah/' 
Duchess of Marlborough? Point out the qualities that 
appeal to children ; those that delight older readers. 

There are several of either sort. 

15. Whom is Swift satirizing in the "Voyage to Lilliput " ? 
In that to Laputa ? To Brobdingnag? To the country of 
the Houyhnhms ? Why did he write of pygmies? 

16. Can you catch Swift in any mistake as to the propor- 
tions of Lilliput ? 

[17. Compare the satire in the voyage to Lilliput with, that in the 
voyage to Brobdingnag. Which device do you consider more effective ?] 

18. Swift reports an Irish bishop as saying of Gulliver's 
Travels that "the book contained some things which he could 
not prevail upon himself to believe." 2 What does this show 
as to the realism of the narrative ? 

1 On the Death of Dr. Svrift. 2 Scott : Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, 



200 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

19. " One seaman is said to have sworn he knew Captain 
Gulliver very well, but he lived at Wapping, not at Rother- 
hithe." l What does this prove about the character ? 

20. What kind of man was Gulliver ? Compare him with 
Robinson Crusoe. 

[21. Point out and illustrate all the methods Swift uses to make his 
work realistic. ] 

22. What is Swift satirizing when he writes of the fol- 
lowing : 

a. The different-colored silken threads prized by 

the courtiers of Lilliput. 

b. The Big-Endians. 

c. The inventions at the academy of Lagado. 

Have any of these inventions, proposed by Swift as absurdities, been 
reaUy achieved since? 

A Tale of a Tub 

" Good God, what a genius I had when I wrote that book! " — Swift, 
in old age, about this work. 

23. What is meant by the title, A Tale of a Tub? 

24. Explain the broad outlines of the allegory. 

25. With which of the three brothers does Swift mean to 
make us sympathize ? Does he succeed ? 

26. Point out the allegorical significance of the following 

details : 

a. Terra australis incognita. 

b. The Duchess d'Argent, Madame des Grands 

Titres, and the Countess d'Orgueil. 

c. The whispering office. 

d. The office for insurance. 

e. Puppets and raree-shows. 
/. Universal pickle. 

1 Scott : Memoirs of Jonathan Swift. 






SWIFT 201 

g. Bulls. 

h. Nailing up the cellar door. 
i. Calling bread mutton. 

j. Martin's and Jack's different ways of treating 
the decorations. 

27. Why does Swift put in so many digressions, formal 
and informal, and so much preliminary material in the way 
of dedications, prefaces, etc. ? 

28. Show how Swift satirized the following tendencies of 
the literary world of his day : 

a. Flattering dedications. 

b. References by an author to his other works. 

c. Ponderous learned allusions. 

d. Ignorance and greed of booksellers. 

e. Literary hacks. 

29. " Yet malice never was his aim ; 

He lashed the vice, but spared the name : 
No individual could resent, 
Where thousands equally were meant ; 
His satire points at no defect, 
But what all mortals may correct ; 
For he abhorr'd that senseless tribe 
Who call it humor when they gibe : 
He spared a hump, or crooked nose, 
Whose owners set not up for beaux. 
True genuine dulness moved his pity, 
Unless it offered to be witty." x 

Are these claims, made by Swift about himself, in accord- 
ance with the facts ? 

[30. From the following sentences by Swift, with others quoted 
elsewhere or found in your reading, draw conclusions on the following 
points : 

(1) His originality. 

(2) His intellectual powers and habits. 

1 On the Death of Dr. Swift. 



202 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

(3) His use of figures. 

(4) His fullness or condensation. 

(5) His choice of words. 

a. " We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to 
make us love one another." 1 

b. "The reason why so few marriages are happy, is because young 
ladies spend their time in making nets, not in making cages." 2 

c. " No wise man ever wished to be younger." 3 

d. "The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our 
desires is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes." 4 

e. "All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or 
langour ; it is like spending this year part of next year's revenue." 5 

31. The following expressions have been used in criticism of Swift. 
Discuss the appropriateness of each. Are any of them inconsistent ? 

a. " Delicacy, keenness, and the power of sympathy." 6 

b. "No sympathy with suffering." 7 

c. " Ferocious irony." 8 

d. "Judicious irony." 9 

e. " Boundless impatience of humbug and pretension." 10 
/. "No admiration of noble qualities." n 

g. " Personal abuse." 12 
h. " Not much conscience." 13 
i. " Honest abruptness." 14 

32. Is Swift a typical member of the Classic School ? What quali- 
ties had he in common with the others ? What qualities made him 
unlike the others ? 

33. "Perhaps what makes the dark figure of Swift stand out so 
vividly against the rose-gray background of the age is — " what should 
you suppose ?] 

1 Thoughts on Various Subjects. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 

6 Gosse : History of Eighteenth Century Literature. 

7 Jeffrey, F. : Jonathan Swift. 

8 Masson, D. : British Novelists and their Styles. 

9 Johnson : Lives of the English Poets. 10 Gosse (as above), 
u Jeffrey (as above). * 2 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 
14 Hazlitt, W. : Lectures on the English Poets. 



SWIFT 203 

Essay Subjects 

"He [Swift] says what he means in the homeliest native English that 
can be conceived. . . . His sentences are self -sufficient, and fit the occasion 
as a glove the hand." — T. H. Ward. 

1. Scene between Swift and his pupil Stella. 

2. Account of Stella's friendship for Swift, by Mrs. 
Dingley. 

3. Dialogue : Swift at Stella's deathbed. 
Ignore the fact that he was not present. 

4. The fateful letter from Vanessa to Swift. 

5. A satire in the manner of Swift : as 

a. An argument against a (pretended) opinion that chil- 
dren ought not to be taught to read. 

Other subjects may be suggested by the following hints : 
trusts, the spoils system, labor and capital, graft, munici- 
pal ownership. 

6. A voyage of Gulliver, satirizing modern conditions. 

7. A defense of Swift. 

8. Reasons for Swift's misanthropy. 

9. Fitness of Swift for his work as a clergyman. 

10. The ambition of Swift. 

11. The political career of Swift. 

12. Was Swift's life worth living ? 

13. Gulliver's Travels as reading for children. 

[14. The contrast between Swift and his contemporaries. 

15. Gulliver 's Travels as a satire. 

16. Secrets of the realism of Swift. 

17. Swift's views on education. 
See " Voyage to Laputa," ch. v. 

18. Compare the laughter caused by Swift with that caused by 
Addison. 

19. Compare the satire of Swift with that of other satirists of the 
Classical School. 

20. The relation of Swift to the Classical School.] 



CHAPTER XVI 

TENDENCIES OF THE CLASSIC AGE AND ITS 
LITERATURE 

To the Teacher. — This section should be connected closely with the his- 
torical study on pp. 152-153, and with the reading in the Classic authors. 
It is well to discourage vague and unsupported generalizations, and to 
insist upon proofs, examples, quotations, details. For the teacher, but 
not for the student, a helpful summary of the literary characteristics of 
the Classic age is to be found in Phelps' Beginnings of the English 
Romantic Movement (Ginn), ch. i. 

1. Explain the various meanings of the word classical. 
Why did the men of the eighteenth century apply it to 
themselves ? 

2. From your own knowledge of the ancient classics, 
state any points of resemblance or of difference between 
them and the writings of the Age of Anne. 

3. Gather all the other terms you can find that have been 
applied to the age and to its literature. Show why each 
name has been given. 

4. How high did the men of that day rank their own 
literature ? 

[5. What did the Classic writers think of previous English au- 
thors ? Give quotations or other proofs of their opinions about 
Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, and any other writers. 

6. Give some idea of any influence on the literature of the period 
exerted by (a) contemporary French literature ; (b) the works of 
Milton; (c) extravagances of minor poets ; (d) the scientific writings 
of the day ; (e) changes in the reading public since the reign of 
Elizabeth. ] 

204 



THE CLASSIC AGE 205 

7. In the following groups of extracts, at least one pas- 
sage of each group was written by some member of the 
Classic School. Point out such passages, and give reasons 
for your choice : 

I. a. " Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, 

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, 
And then is heard no more : it is a tale 
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 
Signifying nothing." 
b. t; When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat. 

Yet fool'd with hope, men favor the deceit ; 
Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay. 
To-morrow's falser than the former day." 

II. a. " Pity melts the mind to love." 

b. u Of all the paths lead to a woman's love, 
Pity's the straightest." 

III. a. " True wit is nature to advantage dressed, 

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed." 
b. " Whose light I hailed when first it shone, 
When, breaking forth as nature's own, 

It showed my youth 
How Verse may build a princely throne 

On humble truth." 

IV. a. " To behold the wandering moon, 

Riding near her highest noon, 
Like one that had been led astray 
Through the heaven's wide pathless way, 
And oft, as if her head she bowed, 
Stooping through a fleecy cloud. ' ' 

b. " As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night, 

O'er heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light, 
When not a breath disturbs the deep serene, 
And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene." 

c. " With how sad steps, Moon, thou climbest the skies, 

How silently, and with how wan a face ! " 



206 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

V. a. " All human things are subject to decay, 

And when fate summons, monarchs must obey." 

b. " And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 

The way to dusty death." 

c. " Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, 

Stains the white radiance of eternity, 
Until Death tramples it to fragments." 

VI. a. " Trifles light as air 

Are to the jealous confirmations strong 
As proofs of holy writ." 
b. " All seems infected that th' infected spy, 
As all looks yellow to the jaundic'd eye." 

8. Put into words the characteristics of the Classic litera- 
ture brought out by these comparisons. 

[9. How strong was the imagination in the authors of the Age of 
Anne ? 

a. Could it give . . . " to airy nothing 

A local habitation and a name " ? 

b. Could it shed " the light that never was on sea or land " ? 

10. The writers of the eighteenth century often in their criticism 
use the word nature. Find instances of this. Just what did they 
mean by the term ? How is their frequent use of it characteristic ? 

11. How much of human life did the writers of the Augustan Age 
depict ? How did (a) their conception of duty, (?>) their attitude 
toward the supernatural, differ from those of the Puritan Age ? 

12. Does the literature of the age concern itself with country life, 
with town life, or with both ? 

13. With what rank of society does it deal ? How is the fact 
typical of the age ? 

14. Judging from the title or generic term, how is each of the fol- 
lowing works, or classes of works, a typical product of the time ? 

(1) An Essay on Criticism. 

(2) Satires by Pope, Swift, Dryden, and others. 

(3) Party pamphlets by Swift,. Defoe, and others. 

(4) Essay on the Human Understanding, by Locke. 



THE CLASSIC AGE 207 

(5) The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith. 

(6) Novels by Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, and others. 

(7) Prose. 

15. What kinds of subject did the Classic writers treat best ? Ex- 
plain why each of these kinds was suited to their powers. 

16. Against what kinds of evil are the satires directed ? Explain 
the significance of the state of things that you discover. 

17. Why should Classic poets naturally choose the heroic couplet 
as their favorite meter ? 

18. Find extracts from the writers themselves which indicate how 
great a degree of emphasis they laid on the form of literary works. 

19; Why did authors care so much more than their predecessors 
for regularity, precision, and the following of rules ? 

20. Is the following attempt by a Classical poet to improve upon a 
certain passage of Shakespeare, in your opinion, successful ? 

" My anxious soul is tore with doubtful strife, 
And hangs suspended between death and life : 
Life! death! dread objects of mankind's debate; 
Whether superior to the shocks of fate, 
To bear its fiercest ills with steadfast mind, 
To nature's order piously resigned — " 1 

21. " Ye were dead 

To things ye knew not of, — were closely wed 
To musty laws lined out with wretched rule 
And compass vile : so that ye taught a school 
Of dolts to smooth, inlay, and clip, and fit, 
Till like the certain wands of Jacob's wit, 
Their verses tallied. Easy was the task : 
A thousand handicraftsmen wore the mask 
Of Poesy." 2 

Explain and judge the accusation. 

22. Sir Leslie Stephen writes: "In our English literature of the 
eighteenth century we can see the reflection of the national character," 
He goes on to enumerate seven characteristics of the national character 
so reflected. What should you suppose some of them to be ? 

23. Sum up for your notebook the principal characteristics of the 
Classic Age. 

1 Hamilton, W. : Poems and Songs. 2 Keats: Sleep and Poetry. 



208 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

24. We are too much inclined to dwell upon the deficiencies of the 
Classic School. What value had it for the development of the English 
character and the English literature ?] 

Essay Subjects 

" There is a kind of writer pleased with sound, 
Whose fustian head with clouds is compassed round — 
No reason can disperse 'em with its light: 
Learn then to think ere you pretend to write. 
As your idea's clear, or else obscure, . 
Th' expression follows perfect or impure : 
What we conceive, with ease we can express; 
Words to the notions flow with readiness." 

— Dryden : The Art of Poetry. 

A character sketch in which you apply to some figure of 
the eighteenth century the searching analysis, cutting satire, 
and polished style of the writers of that age. 

In general, consult the Dictionary of National Biography. 

1. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. 

See his Life, by G. Saintsbury. Longmans, 1885. English Worthies 
Series. 

2. Sir Isaac Newton. 

See the Life, by Sir D. Brewster. Revised edition, edited by W. T. Lynn. 
London: Tegg. 1875. 

3. John Locke. 

See the Life, by T. Fowler. Macmillan or Harper. 1880. English Men 
of Letters Series. 

4. James Watts. 

5. Lord Chesterfield. 

See Letters to his Son, many editions; also essay by J. C. Collins, in 
Essays and Studies. Macmillan ; and by Sainte-Beuve, in English Por- 
traits. Holt. 

For other names, see p. 180. 

A similar sketch of one of our contemporaries, or of some 
one who has not been dead many years. 



■ 



THE CLASSIC AGE 209 

The best general authorities for living persons are : Men and Women 
of the Time, Who's Who, and Who's Who in America. Poole's Index and 
The Reader's Guide will indicate magazine articles that are often the best 
sources on contemporary subjects. 



6. 


Mr. Eockefeller. 


13. 


Mr. Carnegie. 


7. 


Dr. Eliot. 


14. 


Abraham Lincoln. 


8. 


Dr. Booker T. Washington. 


15. 


Mr. Edison. 


9. 


Dr. Nansen. 


16. 


Count Tolstoi. 


10. 


Gladstone. 


17. 


Mr. Hughes. 


11. 


Ibsen. 


18. 


Mr. Taft. 


12. 


Colonel Roosevelt. 







19. A walk in the London of Queen Anne's day. 

20. "Whigs and Tories in the early eighteenth century. 

21. Party spirit now and two hundred years ago. 

22. The part played by clubs in the life of the eighteenth 
century. 

23. The rise of the newspaper. 

24. The character and position of women in the reign of 
Anne. 

25. An apology for Belinda. 

26. Eeasons why the society pictured in The Bape of the 
Lock needed the crusade of Addison. 

[27. The Age of Anne as depicted in Thackeray's Henry Esmond. 

28. Can the characteristics of the men and women of the Age of 
Pope be explained in any degree by the educational methods of the 
day? 

29. The progress of science in the eighteenth century. 

30. The literary public, and its effects upon the literature of the 
age. 

31. The formative influences of the Age of Pope. 

32. Respects in which Dryden prepared the way for the later Classic 
writers. 

33. Comparison of the character and work of Dryden and of 
Addison. 



210 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

34. Show how, in the cases of Pope and Addison, or in those of 
Swift and Addison, difference in circumstances was associated with 
opposite characters and contrasted work. 

35. Show fully how the conditions of the time affected the work of 
one of the following writers : 

a. Dryden. 

b. Pope. 

c. Addison. 

d. Swift. 

36. Effects of political conditions on the lives of certain authors. 

37. Compare, in kind and in extent, the service to humanity of 
Pope, Addison, and Swift. 

38. The influence of French writers upon the Classic School. 

39. Hogarth as an interpreter of the eighteenth century. 

40. The character-drawing of the Classic School. 

Limitations ; strong points ; reasons for their interest. For examples, 
see Absalom and Achitophel, Pope's Epistles, character sketches in the 
Spectator. 

41. Compare the satire of Pope, Swift, and Addison. 

42. Strong and weak points of the heroic couplet. 
See Preface to An Essay on Man. 

43. Importance of the Classic School for the development of Eng- 
lish literature and of the English character. 

"The best answer to those who disparage the eighteenth century is the 
question, ' What should we have done without it? '" *] 

1 Courthope, W. J. : Liberal Movement in English Literature. 



CHAPTER XVII 

JOHNSON 

" The memory of other authors is kept alive by their works. But the 
memory of Johnson keeps many of his works alive." 

— Macaulay: Essays. 

Bibliography 

The Age of Johnson 

I. History 

Lecky, W. E. H. : History of England in the Eighteenth Century, 
ch. xxiii. London : Longmans ; New York : Appleton. 1879-1890. 

Thackeray, W. M. : The Four Georges. Boston : Houghton. 1897. 
Standard Library edition, vol. xiii. 

Stephen, Sir L. : History of English Thought in the Eighteenth 
Century. London : Smith and Elder ; New York : Putnam. 1876. 

Contemporary Records : 

Madame d' Arblay (Frances Burney) : Diary and Letters. London : 
Warne. Chandos Classics. 

Walpole, H. : Letters. Selected and edited by C. D. Yonge. 2 vols. 
London : Unwin. 1890. 

Memoirs of the Reign of George III. Edited by G. E. Russell. 

London : Lawrence. 1894. 

II. Literary History and Criticism 

Boswell, J. : Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. There are many 
editions. That edited by G. B. Hill (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 3 
vols.) is scholarly. The Globe edition, in one volume, with index, is 
convenient (edited by M. Morris. London and New York : Macmillan. 
1893). Newnes (Scribner, importer) has an edition in two slender 
volumes, with good print, thin paper, and index. 

211 



212 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

The best picture of the literary men of the day, as well as the most 
noted biography in the English language. 

" I would still hope that to many readers Boswell has been what he 
has certainly been to some, the first writer who gave them a love of Eng- 
lish literature, and the most charming of all companions long after the 
bloom of novelty has departed. I subscribe most cheerfully to Mr. Lewes' 
statement that he estimates his acquaintances according to their estimate 
of Boswell." 1 

Seccombe, T. : The Age of Johnson. London : Bell. 1902. Hand- 
books of English Literature. 

Beers, H. A. : A History of English Bomanticism in the Eighteenth 
Century. New York : Holt. 1899. 

Minto, W. : Literature of the Georgian Era. New York : Harper. 
1895. 

Perry, T. S. : English Literature in the Eighteenth Century. New 
York: Harper. 1883. 

III. Fiction 

a. Plays 

Goldsmith, 0. : She Stoops to Conquer. (See p. 225.) W. Baker, 
Boston, has a cheap paper edition, with text cut for amateur acting, 
and stage directions. The work is also found in the Temple Dramatists 
edition, Dent. 

Sheridan, R. S. : The Eivals. (As above.) 

To the Teacher. — It is strongly recommended that one of these plays 
be read aloud by the class, parts being assigned. 

Sheridan, R. S. : The School for Scandal. (As above.) 
Standard, but less well adapted for class reading. 

b. Novels 

Goldsmith, 0. : The Vicar of Wakefield. (See p. 225.) 
Richardson, S. : The History of Clarissa Harlowe. Abridged by 
C. H. Jones. 1 vol. New York : Holt. 

Pamela. 1 vol. Philadelphia : Lippincott. 

1 Sir L. Stephen : " Dr. Johnson's Writings," in Hours in a Library. 






JOHNSON 213 

Burney, F. (Madame d'Arblay) : Evelina. 2 vols. London and 
New York : Macmillan. 
Cecilia. (As above.) 

To the Teacher. — The novels of Fielding, Smollett, and Sterne, though 
they belong to this period, are not so well suited to young readers. 

To the Teacher. — As in the case of previous writers, the lives of 
Johnson aud Goldsmith should be studied in connection with the events 
of the times. In this case, however, the student will find for himself the 
necessary facts by consulting the histories and the table on p. 240. On first 
reading the works of Johnson and Goldsmith, the student will naturally 
find the familiar characteristics of the Classic School. But he will collect 
facts which, when he reviews the authors from the point of view of the 
transition to the next age, should enable him to recognize for himself 
certain elements of change. 

IV. Works of Johnson 

Select Essays of Dr. Johnson. Edited by G. B. Hill. London : 
Dent. 2 vols. 

Basselas. Edited by G. B. Hill. Introduction and notes. Oxford : 
Clarendon Press. 

Lives of the English Poets. (See p. 6.) 

The Six Chief Lives with Macaulay^s Life of Johnson. Edited 
by M. Arnold. London : Macmillan. 1878. 

V. Life of Johnson; Criticism 

Boswell, J. : Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (See p. 211.) 

Stephen, Sir L. : Samuel Johnson. London : Macmillan ; New 
York : Harper. 1878. English Men of Letters Series. 

Very brief accounts : 

Macaulay, T. B. : " Crocker's Edition of Boswell's Life of John- 
son," in Critical and Historical Essays. 

Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. 

Stephen, Sir L.: " Dr. Johnson's Writings," in Hours in a Library, 
vol. ii. 

Carlyle, T. : " Boswell 's Life of Johnson," in Essays, vol. iii. 

Reading 
Basselas 



214 STUDY BOOK EST ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Life of Johnson 

To the Teacher. — The first recitation on Johnson may be devoted to 
reconstructing his personality and daily life as they were in his later 
years. Boswell's life is full of details and anecdotes. Encourage the use 
of the index, and independent consultation of other sources of information. 

1. Topics on the personality and daily life of Johnson : 

a. Personal appearance. h. Daily routine. 



b. 


Health. 


i. 


Prejudices. 


c. 


Clothes. 


J- 


The Literary Club. 


d. 


Tricks of manner. 


7c. 


The Thrales. 


e. 


Habits. 


1. 


Boswell. 


f. 


Table manners. 


m. 


Benevolence. 


9- 


Conversation. 







To the Teacher. — The second recitation might be taken up by an 
attempt to account for the mature Johnson by studying the facts and 
conditions of his life, especially during his earlier years. 

2. How learned was Johnson ? How and where did he 
acquire his information ? 

3. Was the desultory nature of Johnson's education good 
or bad for a mind like his ? 

4. How does his married life illustrate his disposition ? 
How did it affect his career? 

5. " Slow rises worth by poverty depressed." 1 Point 
out how this saying of Johnson's is illustrated by his- own 
life. 

6. How many years did he live in " Grub Street " ? 

7. Report : Life in Grub Street. 

8. Why should Johnson have failed as a teacher ? 

See ''Savage," in Johnson: Lives of the English Poets; Pope: The 
Dunciad ; Macaulay : BoswelVs Life of Johnson. 

1 The Vanity of Human Wishes. 



JOHNSON 215 

9. Why were the conditions of authorship in Johnson's 
time so much harder than they had been before or have been 
since ? 

10. What unfortunate traces did his life of struggle leave 
upon him ? 

11. How did Johnson succeed in rising from the position 
of a literary hack of Grub Street to that of literary dictator ? 

12. What was the effect on Johnson's life of the accession 
of George III ? 

13. Johnson, in his Dictionary, denned a pension as " an 
allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In 
England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a 
state hireling for treason to his country." Later, he accepted 
three hundred pounds a year from the government. How 
do you explain the inconsistency ? 

14. Johnson's melancholia : the causes ; his heroic fight 
with it. 

15. What were Johnson's chief works? Give some ac- 
count of each, showing how he came to write it and what 
it was about. 

16. Johnson's letter to Lord Chesterfield: how was it 
characteristic ? 

Questions to conclude the discussion on Johnson's life and 
character : 

IT. How do you explain his strange manners ? 

18. Is Adam Smith right in saying, "He is a brute"; or 
Goldsmith, in saying, " He has nothing of the bear but his 
skin"? 1 

19. What powers of Johnson won for him his high posi- 
tion in the literary world ? 

20. In connection with this biographical study, prepare a 

1 Bos well. 



216 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

table with columns for the life of Johnson and the times, 
and with a blank column reserved for Goldsmith. 

21. Reports on the most famous members of the Literary 
Club. Give special attention to those things which would 
appear at club meetings or which would affect their value as 
club members ; e.g., looks, manners, social gifts, disposition, 
conversational powers. Here is a list of the most important 
members : 

See Dictionary of National Biography ; Boswell, using index ; Macau- 
lay : BoswelVs Life of Johnson ; Phillips : Popular Manual of English 
Literature, paragraph on his friends in chapter on Johnson. 

a. Reynolds. g. Boswell. 

b. Johnson. h. Charles Fox. 

c. Burke. i. Gibbon. 

d. Beauclerk. j. Adam Smith. 
e r Goldsmith. k. Sheridan. 

/. Garrick. 

Johnson's Character as shown in his Writings 

22. Each of the following passages or groups of pas- 
sages is intended to illustrate a different characteristic of 
Johnson. Determine what these characteristics are. Ad- 
duce, if possible, other illustrations of each trait, either 
from Johnson's writings or from his life. 



a. " A man who is tired of London is tired of life ; for there is in 
London all that life can afford.' ■ 1 

b. " A man, Sir, should keep his friendship in constant repair." 

c. "I look upon a day as lost in which I do not make a new 
acquaintance." 

1 Except where otherwise stated, the quotations are from Boswell. 



JOHNSOX 217 

II 

a. "It was worth while being a dunce in those days ! Ah, Sir, 
hadst thou lived in those days ! " 

Johnson is speaking to Boswell of The Dunciad. 

b. " The fellow's an idiot; he's as awkward as a turn-spit when 
first put into the wheel, and as sleepy as a dormouse." 

In his final illness. 

c. " My dear Lady, talk no more of this ; nonsense can be defended 
but by nonsense." 

To Mrs. Thrale. 

in 

a. "I hope I shall never be deterred from detecting what I think 
a cheat by the menaces of a ruffian." 

Johnson had called Macpherson's Ossian a forgery. Macpherson wrote 
him a threatening letter, to which this extract was in answer. 

b. "He has, however, so much kindness for me that he advises me 
to consult my safety when I talk of corporations. I know not what 
the most important corporation can do, becoming manhood, by which 
my safety is endangered. My reputation is safe, for I can prove the 
fact ; my quiet is safe, for I meant well ; for any other safety, I am 
not very solicitous. ' ' 

IV 

a. " No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." 

b. "A woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. 
It is not done well ; but you are surprised to find it done at all." 

c. ''Being in a ship is being in a gaol, with the chance of being 
drowned." 

V 

The following as definitions in Johnson's Dictionary : 

a. " Excise. A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged 
not by the common judges of property, but by wretches hired by those 
to whom excise is paid." 

This was a Whig act. 

b. "Oats. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, 
but in Scotland supports the people." 



218 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

c. " Lexicographer. A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge." 

d. " Tory. [A cant term derived, I suppose, from an Irish word 
signifying a savage.] One who adheres to the ancient constitution of 
the state, and the apostolic hierarchy of the Church of England ; 
opposed to a Whig." 

See also topic 13. 

VI 

a. " When we take the most distant prospect of life, what does it 
present to us but a chaos of unhappiness, a confused and tumultuous 
scene of labor and contest, disappointment and defeat ? If we view 
past ages in the reflection of history, what do they offer to our medita- 
tion but crimes and calamities ? " 1 

b. " * The Europeans,' answered Imlac, t are less unhappy than we ; 
but they are not happy. Human life is everywhere a state in which 
much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed.' " 2 

YII 

a. " Whiggism is a negation of all principle." 

b. "I am willing to love all mankind except an American." 

c. " But, Sir, let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotch- 
man ever sees is the high road that leads him to England ! " 

VIII 

"Dear Honored Mother, 

Your weakness afflicts me beyond what I am willing to communi- 
cate to you. I do not think you unfit to face death, but I know not 
how to bear the thought of losing you. ... I pray often for you ; 
do you pray for me. . . . 

I am, dear, dear mother, 

Your dutiful son, 

Sam. Johnson." 3 
Rasselas 
23. Under what circumstances was Rasselas written ? 
What is the main thought of the book ? Did the circum- 
stances of the composition determine this, or does the book 
express Johnson's habitual mood ? 

See The Vanity of Human Wishes ; The Adventurer. 

1 The Adventurer. 2 Rasselas. 3 Boswell. 



JOHNSON 219 

24. Outline the plot. 

[Is it well contrived ; complex ?] 

25. Garrick said of Johnson's " females " that they were 
" only Johnsons in petticoats." Is this just ? 

26. Is the following remark of Goldsmith's in any way 
applicable to Basselas? 

" ' Why, Dr. Johnson, this is not so easy as you seem to think ; for 
if you were to make little fishes talk, they would talk like whales.' " 1 
[27. How is Basselas different from modern novels ?] 

Johnson's Literary Craftsmanship 

[28. From the following characteristic judgments, determine 
whether or not Johnson was a true member of the Classic School. 
Do you see here or elsewhere signs that he in any way goes beyond 
the Classicists ? 

a. " One of the poems on which much praise has been bestowed is 
Lycidas; of which the diction is harsh, the rhymes uncertain, and num- 
bers unpleasing. . . . Its form is of a pastoral, easy, vulgar, and there- 
fore disgusting." 2 

b. "He [Shakespeare] has scenes of undoubted and perpetual excel- 
lence, but perhaps not one play, which, if it were now exhibited as the 
work of a contemporary writer, would be heard to the conclusion." 3 

c. "It [Pope's translation of the Iliad] is certainly the noblest version 
of poetry which the world has ever seen ; and its publication must there- 
fore be considered as one of the great events in the annals of learning." 4 

d. " His [Addison's] periods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble 
and easy." 5 

e. " When Dr. Johnson was asked if a great prose writer could also 
be a great poet, the Doctor replied : ' Certainly ; a man can walk as far 
east as west.' " 6 

/. "'The business of a poet,' said Imlac, 'is to examine, not the in- 
dividual, but the species ; to remark general properties and large appear- 
ances. He does not number the streaks of the tulip or describe the 
different shades in the verdure of the forest. He is to exhibit in his 

1 Boswell. 2 Lives of the English Poets. 

3 Preface to Shakespeare's Plays. 

4 Lives of the English Poets. 5 Ibid. 

6 Halleck, R. P. : Psychology and Psychic Culture. 



220 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

portraits of nature such prominent and striking features as recall the 
original to every mind ; and must neglect the minuter discriminations, 
which one may have remarked and another have neglected, for those char- 
acteristics which are alike ohvious to vigilance and carelessness.' " x 

29. Does Johnson in his prose follow his own directions to poets ? 
Note, for example, the following sentence : 

"From the mountains on every side, rivulets descended that filled the 
valley with verdure and fertility, and formed a lake in the middle, inhab- 
ited by fish of every species, and frequented by every fowl whom nature 
has taught to dip the wing in water." 2 

Taking the extracts already given as part of your data, and looking 
for others in the reading, answer the following questions as to John- 
son's style : 

30. Is there anything in the structure and sound of Johnson's sen- 
tences that reminds you of Pope's poetry ? 

31. What can you say of the sentence structure of the following 
extract : 

"I considered that wit was sarcastic, and magnanimity imperious; 
that avarice was economical, and ignorance obsequious ; and having esti- 
mated the good and evil of every quality, employed my own diligence 
and that of my friends to find the lady in whom nature and reason had 
reached that happy mediocrity which is equally remote from exuberance 
and deficience." 3 

32. Do you notice any symmetry in Johnson's use of adjectives ? 

33. Compare Johnson's spoken English with his written English. 

34. Did he always write " Johnsonese" ? 

35. How does the style of Lives of the English Poets differ from 
that of his earlier works ? Account for the difference. 

Two explanations have been suggested. 

36. Why were the words of Shakespeare, "You must borrow me 
Gargantua's mouth," applied to Johnson, as he himself tells us ? 

37. Does the following explanation justify, to your mind, Johnson's 
use of long, " sesquipedalian " words ? 

" Few faults of style, whether real or imaginary, excite the malignity of 
a more numerous class of readers, than the use of hard words. . . . But 

i Rasselas. 2 Ibid. 3 The Idler. 



JOHNSON 221 

words are only hard to those who do not understand them ; and the critic 
ought always to inquire, whether he is incommoded by the fault of the 
writer or by his own. . . . The Guardian directs one of his pupils ' to think 
with the wise, but speak with the vulgar.' This is a precept specious 
enough, but not always practicable. Difference of thoughts will produce 
difference of language. He that thinks with more extent than another 
will want words of larger meaning; he that thinks with more subtilty 
will seek for terms of more nice discrimination ; and where is the wonder, 
since words are but the images of things, that he who never knew the 
originals should not know the copies ? " 1 

Compare in Johnson's Dictionary : " Network. Anything reticulated or 
decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections." 

38. Does he use more Latin, or more Anglo-Saxon words ? 

39. Does he use more or fewer long words than Addison, Steele, 
Swift ? 

40. To the Teacher. — Let each member of the class write in Johnson- 
ese any common proverb, "All's well that ends well," "A rolling stone 
gathers no moss," etc. Let the students then compare notes, to see whose 
imitation is the best. 

41. Take an extract from Johnson, and try to improve the style. 

42. Select illustrations for each of the five characteristics of John- 
son's style enumerated by Taine in the following passage : 

" His phraseology rolls ever in solemn and majestic periods, in which 
every substantive marches ceremoniously, accompanied by its epithet; 
grand, pompous words peal like an organ ; every proposition is set forth 
balanced by a proposition of equal length, thought is developed with the 
compassed regularity and official splendor of a procession." 2 

43. Is the following criticism fair? 

" I own I like not Johnson's turgid style, 
That gives an inch the importance of a mile, 

Uplifts the club of Hercules — for what ? 

To crush a butterfly or brain a gnat; 

Creates a whirlwind from the earth to draw 

A goose's feather, or exalt a straw ; 

Sets wheels on wheels in motion — such a clatter 

To force up one poor nipperkin of water ; 

Bids ocean labor with tremendous roar, 

To heave a cockle-shell upon the shore ; 

1 The Idler. 2 History of English Literature. 



222 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Alike in every theme his pompous art, 
Heaven's awful thunder or a rumbling cart." 1 

44. Judging a priori, from Johnson's style alone, with which of 
the following assertions do you incline to agree ? 

a. " In general, Johnson's influence on English style was a good one." 2 

b. ''Johnson left the marks of his influence on much of the prose 
written within nearly a hundred years after his death. On the whole, 
this influence has . . . been bad." 3 

c. "With the exception of the English Dictionary, he has done more 
injury to the English language, than even Gibbon himself." 4 

d. " Our debt to him is two-fold. . . . He preserved us against . . . 
the inevitable triviality and feebleness that would have come from the 
imitation of Addison's prose by the ordinary writer. ... In the next place, 
he set a model which could safely be followed." 5 

He explained his own purposes as follows: "I have labored to refine 
our language to grammatical purity, and to clear it from colloquial bar- 
barisms, licentious idioms, and irregular combinations. Something, per- 
haps, I have added to the elegance of its construction, and something to 
the harmony of its cadence." 6 ] 

Essay Subjects 

" Preaching his great gospel, ■ Clear your mind of cant ' ; clear it, throw 
cant utterly away; such was his emphatic repeated precept." 

— Carlyle: BoswelVs Life of Johnson. 

Imitate only the good in Johnson's style. 

" ' I would say to Robertson what an old tutor of a college said to one 
of his pupils: "Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet 
with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out." ' " 

— Boswell. (Johnson is speaking.) 

1. An account of the first meeting between Johnson and 
Goldsmith. Write in the person of Boswell, ignoring the 
fact that Boswell did not meet Johnson until two years 
later. 

1 Wolcott, Dr. J. : Peter Pindar. 2 Moody and Lovett. 

s Halleck. 4 Curran. 5 Craik. 6 The Rambler. 



JOHNSON" 223 

2. An account, in Boswell's manner, of Johnson's visit 
to Goldsmith, when, the latter being arrested for debt, he 
produced The Vicar of Wakefield, and Johnson sold it for him. 

A dialogue between Johnson, Goldsmith, Boswell, and 
perhaps other members of the Club. Adapt one of the 
subjects suggested above, or develop one of the hints that 
follow : 

3. Johnson is alienated from Goldsmith by the devices 
of Boswell, who is jealous of him. The reconciliation. 

What might these devices be ? How bring about the reconciliation ? 

4. Talk at the Club, after Johnson's interview with the 
king. 

See Boswell's account of the interview. 

5. Johnson and Burke discuss Whiggism. 

An imitation of the style of Johnson. Choose one of the 
following subjects: 

6. The necessity of punctuality. 

7. Idleness. 

8. Old age. 

9. Wealth. 

10. Conversation. 

11. Criticism. 

12. Solitude. 

13. Style. 

After finishing your imitation, look up the essay by 
Johnson on the same subject, and compare your work 
with his. 

14. The real Johnson. 

15. Johnson at home. 

16. Johnson in society. 

17. Johnson the pedagogue. 



224 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

18. Johnson, the literary dictator, or " great Cham of 

literature." 1 

19. Johnson as a typical Englishman. 

See Carlyle, BoswelVs Life of Johnson, near the end ; and the following, 
by C. F. Johnson: 2 "We instinctively recognize this compound [of the 
qualities possessed by Johnson] as the ancestral type of our race, and are 
drawn to it." What, should you suppose, are the qualities that Mr. 
Johnson has just enumerated ? 

20. Johnson's climb from obscurity to dictatorship. 

21. Reasons for Johnson's authority with his contem- 
poraries. 

22. Reasons for the decay of his authority. 

23. Johnson as a talker. 

[24. Effects of Johnson's habit of talking upon his written style. 

25. Changes in Johnson's style as he grew older. 

26. Comparison of the style of Addison with that of Johnson. 

27. Was Johnson a typical member of the Classic School ? 

28. The styles of Johnson and Addison as products of the same 
age. 

29. Comparison of Johnson's satire in The Vanity of Human 
Wishes with Pope's satire.] 

30. Boswell as a biographer. 

31. The personality of Boswell. 

32. Changes in the financial conditions of authorship 
since the time of Johnson. 

33. The Literary Club as a model for similar institutions. 
[One of the following subjects upon which Johnson himself had 

proposed to write : 3 

34. " Hymn to Ignorance." 

35. " The Palace of Sloth, — a vision." 

36. " Prejudice, — a poetical essay." 

37. " The Palace of Nonsense, — a vision."] 

1 Boswell. Smollet is speaking. 

2 " Boswell,'' in Library of the World's Best Literature. 
8 Boswell. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

GOLDSMITH 

"The most beloved of English writers, what a title that is for a man! " 

— Thackeray : English Humorists. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith. With biographical 
introduction by D. Masson. London : Macmillan. Globe edition. 
1899. 

The Vicar of Wakefield, Plays, and Poems. With introduction by 
H. Morley. London : Routledge. Morley's Universal Library. 

The Vicar of Wakefield is found also in many separate editions. 

Selected Poems of Goldsmith. With notes and introduction by 
A. Dobson. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1887. 

II. Life 

Dobson, A. : Life of Oliver Goldsmith. London : W. Scott. 1888. 
Great Writers Series. 

Reliable and detailed, but not so interesting as either of the following: 

Black, W. : Goldsmith. London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 
1893. English Men of Letters Series. 

Irving, W. : Life of Goldsmith. Many editions ; e.g., those pub- 
lished by Putnam, Bell, Lippincott. 

Short accounts : 

De Quincey, T. : Essays on the Poets. Works, vol. iv. 
Dobson, A. : in his edition of the Poems. (See above.) 
Hinchman and Gummere : Lives of Great English Writers. 
225 



226 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Macaulay, T. B. : Biographical Essays. Miscellaneous Works. 
Putnam. Vol. vii. 

Masson, D. : Introduction to Globe edition. (See above.) 
Stephen, Sir L., in Dictionary of National Biography. 
Thackeray, G. M. : English Humorists. Works, vol. xiii. 

Reading 

The Vicar of Wakefield. 
The Deserted Village. 
She Stoops to Conquer. 

Life of Goldsmith 

1. Fill the column left for Goldsmith, in the table pre- 
pared when studying Johnson. 

2. What should you expect from the fact that Gold- 
smith had been born in Ireland, of a family that had been 
there at least one hundred and fifty years, presumably 
marrying Irish women ? Can you verify your supposition ? 

3. What persons had most influence upon Goldsmith 
during his formative years ? Point out any good elements, 
and any bad elements, of the influence of each. 

4. W T hat effects upon Goldsmith had the following 
factors in his early life ? 

a. His home environment. 

b. The fun that was made of him. 

c. His position as sizar at Trinity College. 

d. His lounging and flute-playing. 

See Stevenson's " On Being an Idler," in Virginibus Puerisque. 

e. His irresponsible life after leaving college. 

/. Each brief period of studying for different 

professions. 
g. His travels. 
h. His failure at several callings. 



GOLDSMITH 227 

5. Did anything in the manner of Goldsmith's education 
help to explain : 

a. His lack of self-possession in society ? 

b. His popularity as a man ? 

c. His power to make plots ? 

d. His power to depict character ? 

e. His power to stir emotions ? 

/. His lack of judgment in money matters, and in 

all the practical concerns of everyday life ? 
g. The literary turn of his activity ? 

[6. Judge Goldsmith's education from the pedagogical point of 
view. Was it wise ? What sort of man should you have expected 
it to develop ? 

7. What course of treatment would, in your opinion, have been 
best for Goldsmith as a boy ?] 

8. Describe Goldsmith's several unsuccessful attempts 
to earn his living. 

9. When at twenty-nine Goldsmith began to try to sup- 
port himself by his pen, had he learned any lessons from the 
failures and hardships he had experienced, partly through 
his own fault, in other directions ? 

10. Show how the varied experiences and experiments of 
Goldsmith's youth were valuable to him as a writer. 

11. v Johnson called Goldsmith "a plant that flowered 
late." 1 Explain the appropriateness of the term. 

12. What conditions of the literary market in Goldsmith's 
time made his struggle harder than it would have been to-day ? 

13. Look up the probable reason for Goldsmith's break 
with Griffiths. In what way was Goldsmith to blame ? 
In what respect was his altitude promising for his future 
success ? 

1 Boswell. 



228 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

14. Did his fame come gradually or suddenly? Show 
its effects on him. 

15. Did Goldsmith take such practical advantage of the 
success of The Traveller as would be taken by a businesslike 
writer of to-day ? 

16. Mr. Dobson says : " The prose works of Goldsmith 
fall naturally into two classes — those which he wrote for 
bread, and those which he wrote for reputation." Name 
Goldsmith's works in order of composition, assigning each 
to the class to which you think it belongs. Contrive some 
way of representing these classes to the eye. To which 
class belong more of his important works ? 

17. Goldsmith is reported to have said that he wrote his 
works " with as much ease as a common letter." Is Gold- 
smith, then, an exception to the rule that literary excellence 
is not gained without long apprenticeship and diligent labor ? 

" As the Greek poet long ago said, excellence dwells among rocks hardly 
accessible, and a man must almost wear his heart out before he can reach 
her." 1 

18. Goldsmith was a subjective writer — that is, he re- 
produced in his writings his own feelings and experiences. 
Trace the autobiographic basis of each of the following 
passages : 

a. " There is not, perhaps, a more whimsically dismal figure in 
nature than a man of real modesty, who assumes an air of impudence 
— who, while his heart beats with anxiety, studies ease, and affects 
good-humor." 2 

b. "O the delights of poverty and a good appetite ! We beggars 
are the very fondlings of Nature ; the rich she treats like an arrant 
step-mother ; they are pleased with nothing ; cut a steak from what 
part you will, and it is in supportably tough ; dress it up with pickles, 
and even pickles cannot procure them an appetite. But the whole 

1 M. Arnold : " Milton, " Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 

2 The Bee. 



GOLDSMITH 229 

creation is filled with good things for the beggar ; Calvert's butt out- 
tastes Champagne, and Sedgeley's home-brewed excels Tokay. Joy, 
joy, my blood ! though our estates lie nowhere, we have fortunes 
wherever we go." 1 

c. "Why, why was I born a man, and yet see the sufferings of 
wretches I cannot relieve ! Poor houseless creatures ! the world will 
give you reproaches, but will not give you relief. The slightest mis- 
fortunes of the great, the most imaginary uneasiness of the rich, are 
aggravated with all the power of eloquence, and held up to engage our 
attention and sympathetic sorrow. The poor weep unheeded, perse- 
cuted by every subordinate species of tyranny ; and every law which 
gives others security, becomes an enemy to them. 

" Why was this heart of mine formed with so much sensibility ! or 
why was not my fortune adapted to its impulse ! Tenderness, without 
a capacity of relieving, only makes the man who feels it more wretched 
than the object which sues for assistance." 2 

For another example, see essay on " Justice and Generosity," in the 
Bee, iii. 

19. What authors have we studied who were not subjec- 
tive, so that in regard to them such inferences could not 
be drawn ? 

20. Judging from the following references to Goldsmith's 
conversation, how did he talk ? 

a. " Here lies Nolly Goldsmith, for shortness called Noll, 

Who wrote like an angel, but talk'd like poor Poll." 

Mock epitaph on " the late Dr. Goldsmith," by David Garrick, written 
one evening when Goldsmith was late to the Club. 

b. " No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, 
or more wise when he had." 3 

c. " Goldsmith is a fool, the more wearing having some sense." 4 

d. "An inspired idiot." 5 

Collect from Boswell anecdotes relating to his conversation, 
consulting index. Account for the conclusion you reach by 

1 Essays. 2 A Citizen of the World. 

3 Boswell. (Dr. Johnson is speaking.) 4 H. Walpole. 

6 Boswell. (Walpole is speaking.) 



230 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

reference to temperament, education, or nationality. Is 
there any reason to suppose that the stupidity was not all 
on Goldsmith's side ? 

21. What inferences about Goldsmith's character may be 
drawn from the fact that he was so familiarly called by 
nicknames, such as "Goldy" and "Noll"? 

22. Relate anecdotes that show — 

a. His benevolence. 

b. His impulsiveness. 

c. His lack of practical judgment. 

d. His vanity. 

e. The affection felt for him by his friends. 

23. " There are few writers for whom the readers feel such 
personal kindness as for Oliver Goldsmith." 1 Is this true 
with you ? Why is it that at this distance in time the 
reader can feel that he knows the man Goldsmith so inti- 
mately ? What is it in Goldsmith's nature that still wins 
our " personal kindness " ? 

The Vicar of Wakefield 

24. Under what circumstances was TJie Vicar of Wakefield 
published ? 

25. William Black compares the plot of The Vicar of 
Wakefield with that of the Book of Job. Show the paral- 
lelism. 

26. Mr. Howells says of the work, " It is unmistakably 
good up to a certain point, and then unmistakably bad." Dis- 
cuss the dictum, trying to discover the point of which he 
is speaking. 

27. "The plot is full of wild improbabilities." 2 Is this 
true ? If so, what are they ? 

1 Irving : Life of Goldsmith. 2 Black, W. : Goldsmith. 



h 



GOLDSMITH 231 

28. " Scarcely an adventure or character is given in his works that 
may not be traced to his own party-colored story." x 

Point out the autobiographical elements in The Vicar of 
Wakefield. (See pp. 228 If.) 

[Are there other things besides adventures and characters in which 
the subjective tendency of Goldsmith shows itself .?] 

29. Taine compares the book to a Flemish picture. Ex- 
plain the point of the comparison. 

Look at some Flemish pictures. 

[30. Collect examples of humor ; of pathos. 

31. What would be the influence of the story upon the reader ?] 

The Deserted Village 

32. What town, if any, was the real " Anbnrn " ? 

33. What parts of the poem are drawn from Goldsmith's 
life? 

34. What does the poem show about' Goldsmith's feel- 
ings? 

[35. What sociological opinions does it show him to have held? 
e.g., what did he think of large fortunes ? Of agricultural life ? Of 
emigration ? 

36. How does Goldsmith's poetry differ from that of Pope ?] 

She Stoops to Conquer 

37. Upon what incident in Goldsmith's youth is a part 
of the jjlot of She Stoops to Conquer based ? 

[38. Is the plot well constructed ? Is a single story well worked up 
to a climax ? Are the events prepared for ? Do they follow from the 
nature of the characters and the situation ?] 

39. Describe the different characters. Which one seems 
to you most lifelike ? 

40. What are the humorous elements of the play ? 

1 Irving, W. : Life of Goldsmith. 



232 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

[41. Do you agree with the following criticism by Horace Walpole ? 

1 ' Dr. Goldsmith has written a Comedy — no, it is the lowest of all farces. 
It is not the subject I condemn, though very vulgar, but the execution. 
The drift tends to no moral, no edification of any kind. The situations, 
however, are well imagined, and make one laugh in spite of the grossness 
of the dialogue, the forced witticisms, and total improbability of the whole 
plan and conduct. But what disgusts me most is, that though the char- 
acters are very low, and aim at low humor, not one of them says a sentence 
that is natural or marks auy character at all." *] 

Goldsmith's Writings in General 

[42. Does Goldsmith write " with his eye on the subject " 2 ? See, 
for example, the following extract. Find other pertinent passages. 

" During the reply I had an opportunity of surveying the appearance 
of our new companion : his hat was pinched up with peculiar smartness ; 
his looks were pale, thin, and sharp ; round his neck he wore a broad black 
riband, and in his bosom a buckle studded with glass ; his coat was trimmed 
with tarnished twist ; he wore by his side a sword with a black hilt ; and 
his stockings of silk, though newly washed, were grown yellow by long 
service." 3 

43. How much power has Goldsmith to make us not only understand 
people and incidents, but feel about them as he would have us ? Take, 
for examples, the Vicar, and the emigration from Auburn. 

44. Does Goldsmith's style show any traces of the influence of Dr. 
Johnson ? Compare the style of the two writers. As a partial basis 
for this study, use passages on pp. 218 ff. and those quoted from 
Goldsmith below. 

Read the passages aloud. 

a. "I was never much displeased with those harmless delusions that 
tend to make us more happy." 4 

b. " That virtue which requires to be ever guarded is scarce worth the 
sentinel." 5 

c. "I had scarce taken orders a year before I began to think seriously 
of matrimony, and chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a 
fine glossy surface, but for such qualities as would wear well. To do her 

1 Letter to Rev. Wm. Mason. 

2 Wordsworth : Preface to Lyrical Ballads. 

3 A Citizen of the World. * The Vicar of Wakefield. 5 Ibid. 



GOLDSMITH 233 

justice, she was a good-natured notable woman ; and, as for breeding, 
there were few country ladies who could show more. She could read any- 
English book without much spelling ; but for pickling, preserving, and 
cookery, none could excel her." l 
Compare the similar passage by Johnson, p. 220. 

d. " Life, at the greatest and best, has been compared to a froward 
child, that must be humored and played with till it falls asleep, aud 
then all the care is over." 2 

45. What seem to you to be the most important contributions of 
Goldsmith to literature ? 

I.e., characters, or plots, or qualities of style, or point of view, or 
what ?] 

Essay Subjects 

" It were to be wished, therefore, that we no longer found pleasure with 
the inflated style. . . . We should now dispense with loaded epithet and 
dressing up trifles with dignity. . . . Let us, instead of writing finely, 
try to write naturally ; not hunt after lofty expressions to deliver mean 
ideas, nor be forever gaping, when we only mean to deliver a whisper." 
— An Inquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning. 

" Kindness and gentleness are never out of fashion ; it is these in Gold- 
smith which make him our contemporary, and it is worth the while of any 
young person presently intending deathless renown to take a little thought 
of them. ... I do not think that a man of harsh and arrogant nature, 
of worldly and selfish soul, could ever have written his style, and I do think 
that, in far greater measure than criticism has recognized, his spiritual 
quality, his essential friendliness, expressed itself in the literary beauty 
that wins the heart as well as takes the fancy in his work." 

— Howells : My Literary Passions. 

Narration 

1. A story of Goldsmith's childhood. Take one of the 
anecdotes, study the environment, conceive the persons viv- 
idly, make them talk, invent appropriate details. 

2. The adventures of Goldsmith on the Continent. Make 
the roving life as delightful as you can. 

Choose an effective title. 

1 The Vicar of Wakefield. 

2 An Inquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning. 



234 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

3. The love story of Oliver Goldsmith. 
Fictitious, of course. 

4. A scene between Goldsmith and his tailor. 

5. A tale based on one of the anecdotes relating to Gold- 
smith's impulsive generosity. 

See. also essay subjects under Johnson. 



Exposition 



6. Goldsmith as a typical Irishman. 

7. Effects on Goldsmith of his education. 
[8. Goldsmith's education, judged from the standpoint of peda- 
gogy.] 

9. Goldsmith's early struggles to earn his bread. 

10. How much did Goldsmith learn from experience ? 

11. Goldsmith's early years as a preparation for the writ- 
ing of literature. 

12. Goldsmith's works as the fruit of his own experience. 

13. Goldsmith in society. 

14. "He was so generous that he forgot to be just." 1 
Does this apply to Goldsmith ? 

See Goldsmith's "Justice vs. Generosity," in the Bee, iii. 
[15. The social theories of Goldsmith. 

See The Deserted Village ; City Night Piece ; hints in The Vicar of 
Wakefield. 

16. Parallel between The Vicar of Wakefield and the Book of Job. 

17. Comparison between the poetry of Goldsmith and that of Pope. 

18. Goldsmith's contributions to literature.] 

1 Macaulay. 






CHAPTER XIX 
TRANSITION TO THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 

" It [the Romantic Movement] was nothing less than a great revived 

movement of the soul of man, after a long period of prosaic acceptance 

in all things, including literature and art. To this revival the present 

writer . . . has already . . . given the name of the Renascence of Wonder." 

— T. Watts-Dunton : Chambers's Cylopsedia of English Literature. 

Bibliography 

A. The Period of Transition 

I. Literary History 

Beers, H. A. : A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth 
Century. New York: Holt. 1899. 

Phelps, W. L. : The Beginnings of the English Romantic Move- 
ment. Boston : Ginn. 1893. 

To the Teacher. — Extracts from the poems of each of these poets are 
to he found in the collections named on pp. 4 f . 

II. Thomson 

Poems. With an introduction by W. Bayne. London : W. Scott. 
Canterbury Poets. 

The Seasons and The Castle of Indolence. Edited by J. L. Rob- 
ertson. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 

III. Collins 

Poems. Edited, with introduction and notes, by W. C. Bronson. 
Boston : Ginn. 1898. Athenueum Press Series. 

Johnson, S. : Lives of the English Poets. (See p. 6.) 
235 



236 STUDY B9OK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

IV. Chatterton 

Skeat, W. W. : The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton. With 
an essay on the Rowley Poems by W. W. Skeat. Memoir by E. Bell. 
2 vols. London : Bell. 1871. 

Beers, H. A. : A History of English Bomanticism in the Eighteenth 
Century. (See above.) Chapter on u Thomas Chatterton." 

Watts, W. T. : Essay on Chatterton in Ward's The English Poets, 
latter part. 

V. Cowper 

a. Works 

Poetical Works. Edited, with biographical introduction, by W. 
Benham. Globe edition. London : Macmillan. 1879. 

Selections from Cowper. Edited, with a life, introduction, and 
notes, by H. T. Griffith. 2 vols. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1874. 

Knight, C. : Half-hours ivith the Best Letter Writers and Autobiog- 
raphers. London : Routledge. 1868. Vol. ii, ch. ii. 

b. Life 

Benham, W. : Biographical introduction, in Globe edition of 
Poems. (See above.) 

Smith, G. : Cowper. London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 
English Men of Letters Series. 1880. 

c. Criticism 

Bagehot, W. : u William Cowper," in Literary Studies, vol. i. Hart- 
ford : Travelers' Insurance Co. 1889. 

Sainte-Beuve, C. A. : "William Cowper," in English Portraits. 
New York: Holt. 1875. 

Stephen, Sir L. : " Cowper and Rousseau," in Hours in a Library, 
vol. ii. 

VI. Blake 

Poetical Works. A new and verbatim text. Edited by J. Sampson. 
Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1905. 

The Letters of William Blake, together with his Life, by F. Tatham. 
Edited by A. G. B. Russell. London : Methuen. 1906. 

Gilchrist, A. : The Life of William Blake. Edited, with introduc- 
tion, by W. G. Robertson. 2 vols. London : Lane. 1907. 






THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 237 

VII. Burns 

Complete Poetical Works. Cambridge edition. Based on the Cen- 
tenary edition, with an essay by Henley, indexes, glossary. 1 vol. 
Boston : Houghton. 

Henley, W. E. : "Life, Genius, and Achievement" (of Burns). 
Essay in Centenary edition. (Also see above.) 

Shairp, J. C. : Robert Burns. London: Macmillan ; New York: 
Harper. 1879. English Men of Letters Series. 

Blackie, J. S. : Life of Robert Burns. London : W. Scott. 1888. 
Great Writers Series. 

The last chapter has an excellent account of Burns' character. 

Carlyle, T. : "Burns," in Essays,. vol. i. 

VIII. Crabbe 

Poems. Edited by A. W. Ward. 3 vols. Cambridge : The Uni- 
versity Press. 1905, 1907. Cambridge English Classics. 

Ainger, A. : George Crabbe. London : Macmillan. New York : 
Harper. 1903. English Men of Letters Series. 

Stephen, Sir L. : " Crabbe," in Hours in a Library, vol. ii, 

B. The Romantic School 
I. Literary History and Criticism 

Beers, H. A. : A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth 
Century. New York : Holt. 1901. 

Herford, C. H. : Age of Wordsworth. London : Bell. 1897. 
Handbooks of English Literature. Edited by J. W. Hales. 

Caine, T. H. H. : Cobwebs of Criticism. London : Stock. 1883. 

Shows attitude of contemporary critics toward Romantic poets. 

Courthope, W. J. : The Liberal Movement in English Literature. 
London : Murray. 1885. 

Dowden, E. : " The French Bevolution and Literature," and " The 
Transcendental Movement and Literature," in Studies in Literature, 
1789-1877. London : Kegan Paul. 1878. 

The French Revolution and English Literature. Leetures 

delivered at Princeton University. New York : Scribner. 1897. 

Hazlitt, W. : The Spirit of the Age. Collected Works. London : 
Dent. 1902-1904. Yol. iv. 



238 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Oliphant, M. O. : The Literary History of England in the End of 
the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth Century. 3 vols. 
New York: Macmillan. 1883. 

II. Contemporary Memoirs, etc. 

Clarke, C. C, and M. C: Becollections of Writers. New York: 
Scribner. 1878. 

De Quincey, T. : Literary Reminiscences, and Biographical Essays. 
1835-1840. Works, vols, ii, and iv, v. 

Haydon, B. R. : Life, Letters, and Table Talk. 2 vols. Edited by 
R. H. Stoddard. New York : Scribner, Armstrong & Co. 1876. 

Hunt, L. : Autobiography. Revised edition. London : Smith & 
Elder. 1885. 

Mason, E. T. : Personal Traits of British Authors. New York. 
Scribner : 1885. Reprinted 1902. 

Extracts from many contemporary sources. 

Mitford, M. R. : Becollections of a Literary Life. New York : 
Harper. 1852. 

Robinson, H. Crabb : Diary, Beminiscences, and Correspondence. 
3 vols. London : Macmillan. 1869. 

Smiles, S. : A Publisher and His Friends. Memoirs and Corre- 
spondence of John Murray. 2 vols. London : Murray. 1891. 

For the Teacher. — III. Classicism vs. Romanticism 

Beers, H. A. : A History of English Bomanticism. New York : 
Holt. 1899. Ch. i. 

Colvin, S. : Introduction to Selections from Landor. London : 
Macmillan. 1882. Golden Treasury Series. 

Pater, W. : " Postscript " to Appreciations. London: Macmillan. 

IV. Novels Illustrative or Characteristic of 
the Period 

Austen, J. : Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield 
Park, Emma. London : Macmillan ; Boston : Little ; etc. 

Edgeworth, M. : Stories of Ireland : Castle Backrent, The Absentee. 
Introduction by H. Morley. London : Routledge. 1886. Morley's 
Universal Library. 



THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 239 

Peacock, T. L. : Nightmare Abbey. Edited by K. Garnett. Lon- 
don : Macmillan. 

Porter, J. : Thaddeus of Warsaiv. London : Routledge. 

Scottish Chiefs. (As above.) 

Radcliffe, A. : The Mysteries of Udolpho. London : Rontledge. 

Dickens, C. : A Tale of Two Cities. Introduction and notes by 
A. Lang. London : Chapman and Hall. Gadshill edition. Im- 
ported by Scribner. Boston : Ginn. Standard English Classics. 

Reading in Poets of the Transition 

For those having reports, and others interested in study- 
ing these men for themselves. The period affords delightful 
opportunities for individual excursions. 

Thomson : The Seasons, " Spring," lines 143-207. 

" Winter," lines 57-201 ; 424-432. 

The Castle of Indolence, canto i, st. 2-7 ; 33-40. 
Collins : Ode to Evening. 
Chatterton : An Excellent Ballad of Charity. 

uElla, " Minstrels' Marriage-Song." 
Cowper : The Diverting History of John Gilpin. 

The Task, book i, lines 36-194 ; vi, 57-84. 

Letters in Knight. (See p. 236.) 
Blake : How sweet I roam d from field to field. 

My silks and fine array. 

To the Muses. 

Songs of Innocence. 

Songs of Experience. 
Burns : To a Mouse. 

The Cotter's Saturday Night. 

To a Mountain Daisy. 

Flow Gently, Sweet Afton. 

Of a? the Airts. 

Auld Lang Syne. 

Willie brewed a Peck o' Maut. 

John Anderson, my Jo. 

Tarn C Shanter. 

Ae Fond Kiss. 



Q 
O 
i— ( 

PM 
O 
H 

O 
P3 

H 

O 

H 

O 






i- 

O 

3 

o 









1C 








00 












1C 






















C3 


T-l 






b- 
























*- 
















^ 












Burns 





Cowper 



Johnson 



Goldsmith 



Gray 



Chatterton 



Collins 



t k § ^ ¥ •£ « 
.SS6 

u~ m £>, :«? 









> 



M 

< 

Eh 
3 



-IS ** 



^ -<s ^ 

•• S u 
gftSaJS 






<£> «0 

^^ e, § >^ 



££ 

«* 






c3 co 
•S) © .. 

£ a 






.115 



s sv.^ 2 



* § o5 « 

....as* 



IQ 



OJ C3 t* 



a s •• ..^ 

- JL. Sh <» 

— <D <» S> 

00 -S CO ^-S p=3 '«* 
fc- * CO ©-QQ 02 S 
•<# «© t-Ol 








O 




^^ 


1 

a 


co 


C3 rt 


be 




3*3 






«2 


a 




«3 


~ 


O 




a 




03 


s 




•°.g 




§1 








03 ^ O 




as a> 


c3 


•<1 ^ bX) 

5 tea 


O C3 rt 


c S c 


a 
o 




O 
Ph 

S 


33 2. -u M 


CC y-L 4jh 

Ch4 C 


•S C rt H 

l>KOO 




□G 




t- OiO 


§s 


lO 




O 


iO IO 


e 


CO 


tc tO 


t- 


t- fc- 


t- 


*— 


fc- 





a ^ 



•2 bo 



a o 



f^p^ 



co *->:<» tp 
S ^ U « < 






2 § 



QMO r JPQ 



Keats 

Shelley 

Byron 

De Qnincev 
Lamb 



Coleridge 

Scott 
Wordsworth 



ake 



i^ s'3 



1^ 



$1 



&B 



• £ £ ^ Si 






ft* "1 



3 s* 

:^ • 

- - ;- 

3Pm^ 



« « S <o — ^ 

fl ^^^ .. 2^ 

• o poo o ^-g © P 

OS ps O O O 

*- t— <x x x 



^ 



!S^ ^ 



~ ^ «s 



■§* 















SSI S 

^ « 8 <s 



<S. ^ s e ^ - 



u -^ ^Z? -° •• °o . . C> 

OS C5CO T* lO 

CO CO CO 00 00 

1-1 Ti rlrl r-l 



| ill. | 

^•-^ ^ Sir 

Bi"§ §V* a 8 Si*8 

s||£|gg.s§t;g 

*- oocso t-h eq co 
g ggg | g g 



£.2-3 
^ 3 a 




T3 

c3 


© 


© 


M ^^ 




a 


Cm 


a -^ 




© 


c3 


s 

. © 


^3 > 
c3 03 


Oc3 „ 


E 


"o3 

© 


o3 c3 


§ © 

■^►2 © 

cc .© 


f §<o 


— 

O 

© 


o 

O 

c 


©^ 
IS 


x 2 a 


"of 

pq 






£o © 

© , rd 


CO 

OS 


CO 


o 


(M rtl 


eo i^ 


fc- 


o 

00 


OO .X) 


o o 

00 GO 



^ t? 



S £ 



Hi PP 



g C<1 Tt< lO 
OO 00 00 O0 



242 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

A Bed, Bed Bose. 

A Man's a Man for a? that. 

ivert thou in the Caiild Blast. 

Memory Passages 

Choose one or more of the poems assigned for readiDg from Blake 
and Burns. 

The Period of Transition 

" Here [at the end of the eighteenth century] ... we can see the old 
fruit dropping off and the new forming, in a dozen different kinds and a 
hundred different ways. . . . Nothing in literature is more interesting 
than to watch the effect of the half-conscious aims and desires of Cowper 
and Crabbe, to see how they try to put the new wine in the old bottles, 
to compare them with Goldsmith and Thomson on the one hand, with 
Wordsworth and Coleridge on the other." 

— Saintsbury : History of Nineteenth Century Literature. 

[1. Referring to your summary of the characteristics of classic 
literature, show in what ways and to what extent each is manifested 
in the works of Johnson and Goldsmith. 

2. Point out in writings of these two men any signs that new forces 
are at work. ] 

3. By the end of the eighteenth century, classic poetry 
had deteriorated. 

[What ideal of classic poetry, which had an excellent influence at 
first, made such a result probable ? And what deficiency in the poetry 
at its best made the degeneration almost inevitable ?] 

That the student may find out for himself in what the 
degeneration consisted, a few extracts are given from the 
verse of the day, two of the passages being accompanied, for 
the purpose of comparison, by parallels from later poets. 

a. " Hail, Memory, hail ! " 
Can you see Memory? The other impersonations below? Is there suffi- 
cient impetuosity of emotion to justify the frequent exclamation points? 

' ' In thy exhaustless mine 
From age to age unnumbered treasures shine ! 
Thought and her shadowy brood thy call obey, 
And Place and Time are subject to thy sway ! 



THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 243 

Thy pleasures most we feel, when most alone ; 
The only pleasures we can call our own. 
Lighter than air, Hope's summer-visions die, 
If but a fleeting cloud obscure the sky ; " 

What image do these two lines convey to you ? 

" If but a beam of sober Reason play," 

Does " sober " go well with " beam " ? 

" Lo, Fancy's fairy frost-work melts away ! 
But can the wiles of Art, the grasp of Power, 
Snatch the rich relics of a well-spent hour ? " 

Are there, in these three lines, any combinations of sounds that are un- 
pleasant to you? 

u These, when the trembling spirit wings her flight, 
Pour round her path a stream of living light, 
And gild those pure and perfect realms of rest " 

Can you " gild " " realms " ? 

4 1 Where Virtue triumphs and her sons are blest ! " * 

Would the term " rocking-horse meter " 2 be fairly applied to this passage ? 

a'. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever ; 
Its loveliness increases ; it will never 
Pass into nothingness ; but still will keep 
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep 
Pull of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing." 3 

Read aloud this expression of a similar thought. How does it make 
you feel about memories of beautiful things? Does it leave any pictures 
iu your mind? Are the images consistent? How does the meter differ 
from that of the other extract? Why, do you suppose, are the two pas- 
sages so different? 

b. "To fortify their bodies some frequent 
The gelid cistern." 4 

Would a true poet have chosen such a theme for a poem ? 

1 Rogers, S., The Pleasures of Memory. 

2 Keats: Sleep and Poetry. s Keats: Endymion. 
4 Armstrong, J. : The Art of Preserving Health. 



244 STUDY BOOK m ENGLISH LITERATURE 



b'. " Oh, the wild joys of living ! the leaping from rock up to rock, 
The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver 

shock 
Of the plunge in the pool's living water." 1 

c. " A ball now hisses through the airy tides, 

(Some fury winged it, and some demon guides !) 
Parts the fine locks her graceful head that deck, 
Wounds her fair ear, and sinks into her neck ; 
The red stream, issuing from her azure veins, 
Dyes her white veil, her ivory bosom stains. 
' Ah me ! ' she cried, and sinking on the ground, 
Kissed her dear babes, regardless of the wound ; 
4 Oh, cease not yet to beat, thou vital urn ! ' " 

Do "urns" "beat"? 

" ' Wait, gushing life, oh wait my love's return ! ' 
Hoarse barks the wolf, the vulture screams from far ! 
The angel pity shuns the walks of war ! 
4 Oh, spare, ye war-hounds, spare their tender age ; 
On me, on me,' she cried, 4 exhaust your rage ! ' 
Then with weak arms her weeping babes caressed, 
And sighing, hid them in her blood-stained vest." 2 

Does this description sound as if the writer really felt strongly about 
the tragedy he relates? Point out details that seem to you conclusive. 
Did the author conceive vividly the scenes that he describes ? 

[4. After studying these passages, do you think the following con- 
temporary criticisms just ? 

a. "Oh for the good old times ! when all was new, 
And every hour brought prodigies to view, 
Our sires in unaffected language told 
Of streams of amber and of rocks of gold : 
Full of their theme, they spurned all idle art, 
And the plain tale was trusted to the heart. 
Now all is changed! we fume and fret, poor elves, 
Less to display our subject than ourselves: 
Whate'er we paint — a grot, a flower, a bird, 
Heavens, how we sweat! laboriously absurd! " 3 









1 Browning, R. : Saul. 2 Darwin, Dr. E. : Loves of the Plants. 

3 Gifford, W. : The Baviad. 






THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 245 

6. " Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry ! 

***** 

" How have you left your antient love 
That bards of old enjoyed in you ! 
The languid strings do scarcely move ! 
The sound is forc'd, the notes are few ! " *] 

To the Teacher. — Let class room reports be made by individual students 
on each of the following poets : 

5. Reports : a. Thomson. d. Cowper. 

b. Collins. e. Crabbe. 

c. Chatterton. / Blake. 

g. Burns. 

Let each reporter feel that some members of the class know 
nothing of the man he is to introduce to them. He should 
give them : (a) a clear idea of his author's life, character, 
and work ; and (b) some notion of the reasons why he is 
studied, not as a member of the Classic School, but as a 
herald of something new and different. 

To the Teacher. — The report might be followed by a reading, not too 
long, from the works of the author considered, given perhaps by another 
student. Lest these accounts should become monotonous, some topic 
might in certain cases be selected which would naturally but informally 
bring out the desired points, such as : (a) Cowper's refuge from gloom ; 
(6) Blake, the mystic. In some cases, different aspects of one poet might 
be discussed by two or more students, as : (c) Chatterton, the " marvelous 
boy " ; 2 (d) The tragedy of Chatterton's fate. To these reports there may 
well be devoted several recitations. Teacher and reporters may collab- 
orate in planning the details of the programmes. The last period may well 
be given to Burns. Here are a few suggestions as to topics : (e) Effects on 
Burns of his early environment and education ; (/) How Burns learned 
to write his poems ; (g) Burns' character ; (h) Reasons for his fall. Among 
the reports might be interspersed some of Burns' songs, sung, if possible, 
and readings from The Cotter's Saturday Night and other poems. In all 
this work, the purpose of the exercise, as suggested above, should be kept 
prominent. 

i Blake, W. : To the Muses. 

2 Wordsworth : Resolution and Independence. 



246 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

6. The topics in each of the following groups are con- 
nected, either as cause, result, or illustration, with some 
important tendency that made itself felt in England during 
the last years of the eighteenth century and the first years 
of the nineteenth. Determine what the movements are, 
show the relation to each movement of each of the different 
topics in its group, and with the aid of the table (p. 240) and 
the histories, trace the development of each of the tendencies. 

To the Teacher. — Some of the movements will be inferred without 
difficulty; others are by the nature of the problem more difficult to name. 
Where the student requires help, it should be given in the form of stimu- 
lation, or through the use of the Socratic method. 

I. 

<-(l} The acquisition of Gibraltar by England. 
^J%J The acquisition of territory in India. 

(3) The capture of Quebec. 

(4) The Treaty of Paris: Canada and the Mississippi 
Valley ceded to England. 

(5) Cook's discovery and claim for England of territory 
in the Pacific. 

(6) The American War of Independence. 

(7) The granting of the Canadian Constitution. 

(8) The occupation of the Cape of Good Hope. 

II. 

(1) The use of coal in smelting iron. 

(2) The inventing of the spinning-jenny, the power-loom, 
and Watt's steam-engine. 

(3) The transition from the age of handicrafts to the age 
of machinery. 

(4) The growth of cities. 



THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 247 

(5) The construction of canals. 

(6) The increase of population. 

(7) Improved methods of farming and cattle-breeding. 

(8) Great increase in industry, commerce, and wealth. 

III. 

(1) The Wesleyan revival. 

(2) The development and popularity of the novel. 

(3) The popularity of the comedy. 

(4) The ideas of the French Revolution. 

(5) Prison reform. 

(6) The abolition of the slave trade. 

(7) Legislation intended to help Ireland. 

(8) The establishment of the Sunday school. 

(9) The establishment of hospitals. 

(10) Mary Wolstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of 
Women. 

(11) Godwin's Inquiry concerning Political Justice. 

(12) Goldsmith's The Deserted Village. 

(13) Prabbe's The Village. 

IV. 

(1) The patriotism and eloquence of the elder Pitt. 

(2) The establishment of daily papers and of reviews. 

(3) Publication of reports of parliamentary speeches by 
Burke, Chatham, Fox, the younger Pitt, Sheridan. 

(4) Agitation about rotten boroughs. 

(5) Union of Ireland with England. 

(6) Influence of the American Revolution, and even more 
of the French Revolution. 

(7) Godwin's Inquiry concerning Political Justice. 

(8) Paine's Common Sense, and The Rights of Man. 



248 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

V. 

(1) Grouping of population in cities. 

(2) Improved methods of communication. 

(3) Eeviews and daily papers. 

(4) Increased leisure for many. 

(5) Burning topics for discussion: e.g., (a) the ideas of 
the French Eevolution, and, later, of the reaction against it ; 
(b) proposed political and social reforms; (c) injustices of 
the industrial transition. 

VI. 

(1) The histories of Hume, Gibbon, and Eobertson. 

(2) Percy's Beliqnes of Ancient English Poetry. 

(3) Macpherson's Poems of Ossian. 

(4) Chatterton's Eowley Poems. 

(5) Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. 

(6) Translations of Norse myths. 

(7) Translations of Welsh poetry. 

VII. 

(1) Thomas Warton's History of English Poetry. 

(2) Johnson's edition of Shakespeare's Plays. 

(3) First Shakespeare jubilee at Stratford. 

(4) Acting of Shakespeare's Plays by the elder Booth. 

(5) Thomas Warton's Observations on the Faerie Queene 

(6) Joseph Warton's Essay on the Writings and Genius of 
Pope. 

(7) Imitations of Spenser and Milton. 

(8) Johnson's Lives of the English Poets. 

VIII. 

(1) Foundation of the Eoyal Academy of Art. 

(2) Establishment of art galleries. 



' 



THE EOMAXTIC PERIOD 249 

(3) Opening of the British Museum. 

(4) Development of engraving and etching. 

(5) Spread of popular acquaintance with works of art. 

(6) Work of Hogarth, Wilson, Gainsborough, West. 

(7) Popularity of music. 

(8) The development of the opera and of the oratorio. 

(9) The work of Handel. 

IX. 

(1) Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes 
of the Wealth of Nations. 

(2) Malthus' Essays on the Principle of Population. 

(3) Discovery of Uranus by Sir William Herschel. 

(4) Invention of the steam engine, the steamboat, the 
locomotive, and other machines. 

(5) The invention of the electric telegraph. 

7. Show what effects each of these different tendencies 
would naturally have upon each of the leading characteristics 
of the eighteenth century. 

See pp. 206 ff. 

8. Prove that there existed in England at the beginning 
of the nineteenth century those two conditions to the crea- 
tion of great literature: (a) the consciousness of national 
unity and power; and (b) a widespread intellectual activity. 

Prepare a written statement of your two sets of proofs. 

9. What predictions can you make and support by a priori 
reasoning, as to the nature of a forthcoming literature ? 

Be sure that you know exactly what kind of reasoning this is. 

a. Will it be prose or poetry ? 

b. What forms will be most prominent and successful, 
e.g., satire ? the novel ? 

c. What themes will be chosen ? 



250 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

d. What conjectures can you make as to the style ? 

e. How will the new literature differ from that of the 
Classic Age? 

Essay Subjects 

To the Teacher. — The wide field of the transition period, especially as 
it has not been thoroughly studied by the class as a whole, affords an 
opportunity, very desirable at this point, for the writing of independent 
and contributive essays. So far as possible, let each topic be treated by 
only one student ; and encourage the choice by individuals, under approval, 
of themes chosen by themselves. All the best essays should be shared 
with the class. 

[1. Compare the winter scenes in Thomson's The Seasons with 
those in Cowper's The Task.'] 

2. Chatterton's motives for making his forgeries. 

3. The training of Chatterton's imagination. 

[4. How great is Chatterton's actual achievement as a poet ?] 

5. Reasons why poets are so often not appreciated until 
after their death. 

6. The truth about Macpherson's much discussed " trans- 
lation " of Ossian. 

7. Rediscovery of the romance of bygone times. 

8. Why did Gray produce so little poetry ? 

See Arnold : Essays in Criticism, Second Series ; Phelps : Introduc- 
tion; Tovey: Gray and his Friends. Cambridge: University Press. 
1890. Pp. 21 ff. 

9. The preparation of an audience for Scott's historical 
novels. 

10. William Beckford as a characteristic figure of the 
age of transition. 

11. A rich man with imagination (William Beckford). 

12. Blake's visions. 

13. Was Blake insane ? 
[14. Anarchy in Blake's poetry. 

15. The influence of Blake's visions upon his poetry. 






THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 251 

16. Comparison of Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience. 

17. Blake as an artist.] 

18. Blake as a poet of childhood. 

19. Fitness of Catherine to be Blake ; s wife. 
[20. Was Crabbe " a Pope in worsted stockings " ? x 

21. Traits in Cowper's character, and events of his life, that would 
lead him away from the literary ideals of the Classic School.] 

22. Cowper's The Castaway as an allegory representing 
the author's own condition. 

[23. " Sweet are the uses of adversity,'* as illustrated by the reasons 
for originality of certain later eighteenth-century poets.] 

24. Burns's education. 

25. Effect on Burns of being lionized. 

26. Burns's love for animals. 

27. Was Burns's life a success or a failure ? 

28. Plea for a charitable judgment of Burns. 
See his Address to the Unco Quid. 

[29. The merits of Scotch as a language for poetry. 

30. The development of the love for nature in the later eighteenth 
century.] 

31. Animals as fresh poetic themes. 

[32. Widening interests in the eighteenth century. 

33. Reasons why the French Revolution should have been a great 
intellectual and moral stimulus. 

34. The transformation of industrial conditions as a factor in 
developing the Romantic literature. 

35. Broadening human sympathy in the later eighteenth century. 

36. Effects upon the minds of Englishmen of seeing their country 
become a "mother of nations." 2 ] 

1 Smith, Horace : Quoted in Stephen : Hours in a Library, 

2 Green. 



CHAPTER XX 
WORDSWORTH 

" Blessings be with them — and eternal praise, 
Who gave us nobler loves, and nobler cares — 
The Poets, who on earth have made us heirs 
Of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays ! ' ' 

— Wordsworth : Personal Talk. 

Bibliography 
I. The Lake Country 

Wordsworth, W. : Guide to the District of the Lakes in the North 
of England. Edited by E. de Selincourt. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 
1906. 

The earlier pages, containing a " Description of the Scenery," 
give a general idea of the features of the region, and let us see its 
beauties as the poet himself saw them. 

Rawnsley, H. D. : Literary Associations of the English Lakes. 
2 vols. Illustrated revised edition. Glasgow : Maclehose. Vol. ii. 

The English Lakes. Painted by A. Heaton Cooper. Described 
by W. T. Palmer. London : Black. 1905. 

Colored illustrations. 

Masson, D. : In the Footsteps of the Poets. New York : Whit- 
taker. 1893. 

II. Life 

Myers, F. W. H. : Wordsworth. London : Macmillan ; New York : 
Harper. 1881. English Men of Letters Series. 

The best short life. 

Knight, W. : Life of William Wordsioorth. Vols, ix, x, xi, of 
Knight's edition of the Works. Edinburgh : Paterson. 1882-1889. 
11 vols. 

Full. 

•252 



WORDSWORTH 253 

Lee, E. : Dorothy Wordsworth. New York : Dodd. 1887. 
Traces the influence on Wordsworth of his sister, and gives consid- 
erable information about their home life. 

Brief accounts of his life : 

Morley, J. : Introduction to the Student's edition. (See below.) 
Lowell, J. R. : "Wordsworth," earlier pages, in Literai*y Essays, 
vol. iv. 

III. Works 

The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth. With an 
introduction by John Morley. Student's edition. 1 vol. London : 
Macmillan. 1888. 

Poems of Wordsworth, chosen and edited by M. Arnold. London : 
Macmillan. Golden Treasury Series. 

TV. Criticism 

Arnold, M. : " Wordsworth," in Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 
London : Macmillan. Also found in the Golden Treasury Series 
edition of Wordsworth's poems. (See above.) 

Lowell, J. R. : " Wordsworth," later pages. (See above.) 

Pater, W. : "Wordsworth," in Appreciations. London: Mac- 
millan. 1889. 

Stephen, Sir L. : " Wordsworth's Ethics," in Hours in a Library, 
vol. hi. 

Reading 

Expostulation and Reply. 

Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey. 

Nutting. 

Strange Fits of Passion have I Jcnoivn. 

She dwelt among the untrodden Ways. 

I traveled among unknown Men. 

Three Years she grew. 

Resolution and Independence. 

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, Sept. 3, 1808. 

London, 1802. 

She was a Phantom of Delight. 



254 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

I wandered lonely as a Cloud. 

Ode to Duty. 

Character of the Happy Warrior. 

Personal Talk. 

The World is too much with us. 

Ode. Intimations of Immortality. 

[ The Prelude, bk. i ; and as much more as possible. 

This is Wordsworth's autobiography. 

The Becluse.~\ 

Memory Passages 
Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, beginning, 
" Nature never did betray." 
Three Years she grew. 
Personal Talk. 

The World is too much with us. 
She dwelt among the untrodden Ways. 
She was a Phantom of Delight. 
I wandered lonely as a Cloud. 
Ode to Duty, st. vi. 

Life of Wordsworth 

1. What are the chief sources of our knowledge of 
Wordsworth? Compare the case of Shakespeare. 

2. Make a map of the Lake Region. Mark upon it the 

places where Wordsworth lived. As you read the poems, 

mark the towns, rivers, mountains, referred to. 

If you own a copy of the poems, you might make in it marginal notes 
explaining the references to particular localities. You might also paste 
into the book a map of the region, or draw one on the fly-leaf. 

3. Study the features of the district ; e.g., 

a. Position relative to sea and lowlands. 

b. Dimensions : length and breadth. 

c. Location and altitude of highest point. 



WORDSWORTH 255 

d. Disposition of mountains, valleys, water courses, 

lakes. 

e. Variety of scenery. 

4. Show how Wordsworth's character and writings were 
affected by the scenes among which he lived. 

5. Collect all the facts you can infer from the poems as 
to Wordsworth's boyhood. Was he active, or quiet and 
bookish ? Was he easy to manage ? What were his chief 
pleasures ? Was he in any way unlike ordinary boys ? 

See especially The Prelude, last part of book i; Lines composed a few 
miles above Tiniern Abbey ; Nutting ; Ode. Intimations of Immortality ; 
Influence of Natural Objects; To the Cuckoo. 

[6. Describe the " myth-making phase" 1 of Wordsworth's boy- 
hood. 

See The Prelude, parts of bk. i.] 

7. Give facts, anecdotes, and quotations from poems, 
illustrating the strong love of the boy Wordsworth for 
nature. 

See references under 5. 

8. How strongly was Wordsworth influenced by his life 
at Cambridge ? 

See The Prelude, bk. iii. 

9. What great historical changes took place during 

Wordsworth's life ? Show how he was affected by the 

French Revolution. 

See The Prelude, bk. ix-xi ; or, more briefly, the extract printed sepa- 
rately, and called French Revolution. 

[10. Explain Wordsworth's political opinions, and trace their 
origin. ] 

11. Show how his sister Dorothy " preserved [him] still 
a Poet." 2 

1 Herford. The Age of Wordsworth. 2 The Prelude. 



256 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

See Lee : Dorothy Wordsworth ; and among the poems : To My Sister ; 
Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey; The Sparrow's Nest; 
To a Butterfly ; The Prelude, bk. xi, toward end; The Recluse. " Emme- 
line" is Dorothy. 

12. Find out all you can about Wordsworth's daily life — 

his wife, homes, children, habits, and social relations. 

See Myers ; and among the poems, The Recluse, and A Farewell. Find 
pictures of the homes and their surroundings. 

13. Give an account of the excursions taken by Words- 
worth. 

[14. What factors of Wordsworth's environment and disposition 
would affect the nature and amount of his thinking ?] 

15. What do we know of his methods of composition ? 

16. When did he do his best work? Name his chief 
poems, giving the date and circumstances of the composi- 
tion of each. 

17. What literary men were living when Wordsworth 
was born? 

18. Who were his ' immediate contemporaries ? His 
friends among these? 

19. How did the public receive his poems at first ? How 
did public opinion change ? 

20. What were the sources of his income ? 

21. When did he die? Is his last resting-place an 
appropriate one? 

22. Was his life happy ? Explain causes. 

See The Recluse; The Prelude, bk. i; Resolution and Independence^ 
etc. 

The Poems of Wordsworth 

See how much you can learn from the poems about 
Wordsworth himself. 

23. Which of his senses was most acute ? 



WORDSWORTH 257 

24. Was his nose, as Dowden says, an " idle promon- 
tory"? 1 

25. What kinds of sound could he appreciate, and what 
kinds was he. unable to appreciate ? 

26. Prove by extracts from the poems that Wordsworth 
could remember sounds distinctly. 

27. Prove that there were associative tracts between the 
sound cells of his brain and other cells. What sorts of ideas 
did he associate with sounds ? 

28. Describe his tastes : e.g., as to books, society, food, 
amusements, occupations, associates. 

29. What emotions did he feel most strongly and most 
often ? Was he impulsive ? Was he proud ? Ambitious ? 
Thoughtful about others ? Jealous ? Timid about his own 
powers ? 

30. Did it always come easy to Wordsworth to be virtu- 
ous ? Compare the following passage with what his mother 
said about him. (See biographies.) 

" Wordsworth's flawless temperament, his fine mountain atmosphere 
of mind, that calm, sabbatic, mystic well-being which De Quincey, a 
little cynically, connected with worldly (that is to say, pecuniary) 
good fortune." 2 

31. What was Wordsworth's secret for being happy ? 
Did he apply it successfully in his own life ? 

Make what inferences you can from the poems as to 
Wordsworth's opinions. 

32. What inferences do you draw from the following 
extracts concerning what he thought about his office in 
the world ? 

a. " Yet His not to enjoy that we exist, 

For that end only ; something must be done : 

1 Transcripts and Studies. 2 Pater: " Coleridge," in Appreciations. 



258 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

I must not walk in unreproved delight 

These narrow bounds, and think of nothing more, 

No duty that looks further, and no care. 

Each Being has his office, lowly some 

And common, yet all worthy if fulfilled • 

With zeal, acknowledgement that with the gift 

Keeps pace a harvest answering to the seed. 

Of ill-advised Ambition and of Pride 

I would stand clear, but yet to me I feel 

That an internal brightness is vouchsafed 

That must not die, that must not pass away. 

Possessions have I which are wholly mine, 
Something within that yet is shared by none, 
Not even the nearest to me and most dear, 
Something which power and effort may impart ; 
I would impart it, I would spread it wide : 
Immortal in the world which is to come — 
Forgive me if I add another claim — 
And would not wholly perish even in this, 
Lie down and be forgotten in the dust, 
I and the modest Partners of my days." * 

b. u A renovated spirit singled out, 

Such hope was mine, for holy services." 2 

c. " Magnificent 
The morning rose, in memorable pomp, 
Glorious as e'er I had beheld — in front, 
The sea lay laughing at a distance ; near, 

The solid mountains shone, bright as the clouds, 
Grain-tinctured, drenched in empyrean light ; 
And in the meadows and the lower grounds 
Was all the sweetness of a common dawn — 
Dews, vapors, and the melody of birds, 
And laborers going forth to till the fields. 
Ah ! need I say, dear Friend ! that to the brim 
My heart was full : I made no vows, but vows 

i The Recluse. 2 The Prelude. 



WORDSWORTH 259 

Were then made for me ; bond unknown to me 
Was given, that I should be, else sinning greatly, 
A dedicated Spirit. On I walked 
In thankful blessedness, which still survives." 1 

33. In the following passages, what definite objects does 
he say that he set before himself in writing poetry ? 

a. " Every great poet is a teacher : I wish either to be considered 
as a teacher, or as nothing." 2 

b. " Trouble not yourself upon their present reception [that of his 
poems] ; of what moment is that compared with what I trust is their 
destiny ? — to console the afflicted ; to add sunshine to daylight, by 
making the happy happier ; to teach the young and the gracious of 
every age to see, to think, and feel, and therefore, to become more 
actively and securely virtuous ; this is their office, which I trust they 
will faithfully perform long after we (that is, all that is mortal of us) 
are mouldered in our graves." 3 

c. [" Of these [men " rude in show "], said I, shall be my song; 

of these, 
If future years mature me for the task, 
Will I record the praises, making verse 
Deal boldly with substantial things ; in truth 
And sanctity of passion, speak of these, 
That justice may be done, obeisance paid 
Where it is due : thus haply shall I teach, 
Inspire ; through unadulterated ears 
Pour rapture, tenderness, and hope — my theme 
No other than the very heart of man, 
As found among the best of those who live." 4 ] 

d. "I recollect distinctly the very spot where this struck me [a 
description in an early poem]. . . . The moment was important in 
my poetical history ; for I date from it my consciousness of the infinite 
variety of natural appearances which had been unnoticed by the poets 
of any age or country, so far as I was acquainted with them ; and I 
made a resolution to supply, in some degree, the deficiency." 6 

1 The Prelude. 2 Letter to Sir George Beaumont. 

3 Letter to Lady Beaumont. 4 The Prelude. 

5 An Evening Walk, note. 



260 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

34. What kinds of subject does Wordsworth choose for 
his poems? (See Index.) How does his choice follow from 
the aims of his poetry ? 

35. What types of man does he depict ? What traits of 
character ? What types, if any, can you think .of that he 
never describes at all ? Why did it mean more to write 
poems about wanderers, shepherds, peddlers, and leech- 
gatherers then than it would now ? 

36. Does Wordsworth give a true picture of the common 
farm laborer, or workman ? 

See Michael, Simon Lee, Alice Fell, The Solitary Reaper, Resolution 
and Independence. 

37. What would Wordsworth think of the society pic- 
tured in TJie Rape of the Lock? Cite passages to support 
your view. 

See sonnet, Friend ! I knovj not which way I must look ; Personal 
Talk, The Recluse. 

[38. Collect passages showing what Wordsworth thought about 
nature ; and put into words the opinions you consider him to have 
held. 

39. Did he mean seriously the following lines : 

" And 'tis my faith that every flower 
Enjoys the air it breathes " ? 1 

Hunt up similar or contradictory passages. How widely do you think 
he believed consciousness to be present in phenomena ? 

40. What did Wordsworth think were the effects upon individuals 
of a life in contact with nature ? 

See Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, Three years she 
grew, To a young lady who had been reproached for taking long walks in 
the country, The Prelude, i, ii. 

41. What did Wordsworth believe about God ? 

42. What did he believe about immortality ? 

43. What did he believe about the future of humanity ?] 

1 Lines written in Early Spring. 



WOEDSWORTH 261 

Criticism 

" It is evident . . . that the fineness of his imaginations requires 
thought and attention in the reader, to be perceived and appreciated." 
— E. P. Whipple: Essays and Reviews. 

[44. Try to put yourself in the place of a reader of Wordsworth's 
time. What things about these poems would he notice first ? How 
much would he probably like the poems ? 

45. Why did the Lyrical Ballads arouse so much contemporary 
discussion ? 

46. In language and in form, how did Wordsworth's poems differ 
from the accepted standard ? 

47. Outline briefly Wordsworth's theories of poetry. Do you agree 
with him in all respects ? Did he follow out his own theories in all 
his writings ? 

He set forth his principles in the preface to the Lyrical Ballads. These 
theories Coleridge discussed in Biographia Liter aria, ch. xvii-xx. 

48. How did the opinion expressed in the following lines affect 
Wordsworth's career as a poet ? 

"Beauty — a living Presence of the earth, 
Surpassing the most fair ideal Forms 
Which craft of delicate Spirits hath composed 
From earth's materials — waits upon my steps ; 
Pitches her tent before me as I move, 
An hourly neighbor. Paradise and groves 
Elysian, Fortunate Fields — like those of old 
Sought in the Atlantic main — why should they be 
A history only of departed things, 
Or a mere fiction of what never was? 
For the discerning intellect of Man, 
When wedded to this goodly universe 
In love and holy passion, shall fiud these 
A simple produce of the common day." * 

From this passage infer an aesthetic principle held by Wordsworth. 
Find a passage in his poem At the Grave of Bums, in which he explains 
how this conviction came to him. 

1 The Recluse. 



262 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

49. Study in connection with Lines composed a few miles above 
Tintern Abbey the following extract from Pope's Windsor Forest : 

" Thy forest, Windsor, and thy green retreats, 
At once the Monarch's and the Muse's seats, 
Invite my lays. Be present, Sylvan Maids! 
Unlock your springs, and open all your shades. 
Granville commands; your aid, O Muses, bring! 
What Muse for Granville can refuse to sing ? 

Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain, 
Here earth and water seem to strive again ; 
Not chaos-like together crush'd and bruis'd, 
But as the world, harmoniously confused : 
Where order in variety we see, 
And where, tho' all things differ, all agree. 
Here waving groves a checquer'd scene display, 
And part admit, and part exclude the day ; 
As some coy nymph her lover's warm address 
Nor quite indulges, nor can quite repress. 
There, interspers'd with lawns and opening glades, 
Thin trees arise that shun each other's shades. 
Here in full light the russet plains extend : 
There wrapt in clouds the bluish hills ascend. 
Ev'n the wild heath displays her purple dyes, 
And 'midst the desert fruitful fields arise, 
And crown'd with tufted trees and springing corn, 
Like verdant isles, the sable waste adorn." 

50. Is the language of the common people, as Wordsworth de- 
clared, the best language for poetry ? 

61. In this connection, compare the style of the two passages that 
follow, both by Wordsworth : 

a. " She dwelt among the untrodden ways 
Beside the springs of Dove, 
A Maid whom there were none to praise 
And very few to love : 

" A violet by a mossy stone 
Half hidden from the eye ! 
— Fair as a star, when only one 
Is shining in the sky. 



WORDSWORTH 263 

" She lived unknown, and few could know 
When Lucy ceased to be ; 
But she is in her grave, and, oh, 
The difference to me ! " 

6. " Not for these I raise 

The song of thanks and praise ; 

But for those obstinate questionings 

Of sense and outward things, 

Fallings from us, vanishings ; 

Blank misgivings of a Creature 
Moving about in worlds not realized, 
High instincts before which our mortal Nature 
Did tremble like a guilty thing surprised; 

But for those first affections, 

Those shadowy recollections, 
Which, be they what they may, 
Are yet the fountain light of all our day, 
Are yet a master light of all our seeing ; 

Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make 
Our noisy years seem moments in the being 
Of the eternal Silence : truths that wake, 

To perish never ; 
Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavor, 

Nor Man nor Boy, 
Nor all that is at enmity with joy, 
Can utterly abolish or destroy ! " 1 

52. Was your personal experience in childhood similar to Words- 
worth's, as expressed in the poem from which this last extract is 
taken ? 

53. What is an ode ? Look up the history of the ode, its nature, 
and metrical peculiarities. How does the poem quoted above rank as 
an ode ?] 

Essay Subjects 

" I have at all times endeavored to look steadily at my subject." 

— Wordsworth: Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. 

1. Effects upon Wordsworth of his environment. 

2. The place of Dorothy Wordsworth in the poet's life. 

1 Ode. Intimations of Immortality . 



264 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



3. Wordsworth and the French Revolution. 

4. A detailed account of one of Wordsworth's excursions, 

See Dorothy's Journal. Edited by W. Knight. Macmillan. 1897; and 
her Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland, a.d. 1803. Edited by J. C. 
Shairp. Edinburgh: Edmonton & Douglas. 1874. 

5. Wordsworth in society. 
See life, and Mason. 

6. Wordsworth's character as shown by extracts from his 
poems. 

[7. Wordsworth's aims as a poet. 

8. Wordsworth's theories about nature. 
Quote freely from his own words. 

9. Compare Wordsworth and Burns in respect to the way they 
described nature. 

10. Compare Wordsworth's country people with Markham's The 
Man with a Hoe. 

11. Compare the picture of country people and their life given by 
Wordsworth with that given by Burns in The Cotters Saturday 
Night. 

12. Wordsworth's opinions about the sources of happiness. 

13. Wordsworth and " the simple life." 

See Wagner's book called by this name ; The Recluse ; and Friend ! 
I know not which way I must look. 

14. " Wisdom of our daily life," 1 gathered from Wordsworth's 
poems. 

15. Wordsworth's contributions to the life of humanity. 

16. Comparison of Wordsworth's ideal of character as set forth in 
Ode to Duty, The Recluse, Character of the Happy Warrior, and other 
poems, with that of Theodore Roosevelt as expressed in The Strenu- 
ous Life. 

17. . Outline and judge Wordsworth's theory of poetry; 
See Coleridge's Biographia Literaria, xvii-xx.] 

1 The Excursion, 






CHAPTER XXI 

COLERIDGE 

" Certainly one of the most fascinating and most perplexing figures 
in our literary history." — Stephen : Hours in a Library. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

The Works of Coleridge. Edited by J. D. Campbell. 1 vol. Lon- 
don. Macniillan. 1898. Globe edition. 

Selections from the Prose Writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 
Edited by H. A. Beers. New York : Holt. 1893. Headings for Stu- 
dents. 

Coleridge' 1 s Principles of Criticism, Chapters I, III, IV, XXII of 
Biographia Literaria. With introduction and notes by A. J. George. 
Boston : Heath. 1895. Heath's English Classics. 

Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Edited by E. H. Coleridge. 
2 vols. Boston : Houghton. 1895. 

II. Life 

Traill, H. D. : Coleridge. London : Macmillan ; New York : Har- 
per. 1884. English Men of Letters Series. 

Caine, T. H. H. : Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. London: W. 
Scott. 1887. Great Writers Series. 

Campbell, J. D. : Biographical introduction to the Globe edition. 
(See above.) 

Excellent for a brief account. 

Cottle, J. : Beminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Bobert 
Southey. New York : Wiley and Putnam. 1848. 

Mason, E. T. : Personal Traits of British Authors. New York : 
Scribner. 1885. 

265 



266 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

III. Criticism 

Lowell, J. R. : " Coleridge," in Literary and Political Addresses. 
Houghton. Works, vol. vi. 

Pater, W. : "Coleridge," in Appreciations. London: Macmillan. 
1888. 

Shairp, J. C. : "Coleridge as Poet and Philosopher," in Studies in 
Poetry and Philosophy. Edinburgh : Edmonston & Douglas. 1868 ; 
New York : Hurd & Houghton. 1872. 

Reading 

Kubla Khan. 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

Christabel, pt. i. 

Love. 

Ode to Dejection. 

Memory Passages 

TJie Rime of the Ancient Mariner : — 
pt. ii 3 beginning " Down dropt the breeze," four stanzas, 
pt. v, beginning " It ceased," six lines, 
pt. vi, beginning " Like one," six lines, 
pt. vii, beginning " He prayeth well," six lines. 
Christabel, pt. ii, beginning " Alas ! they had been friends 
in youth," one stanza. 

Life of Coleridge 

1. Describe Coleridge's childhood. Was it adapted to 
develop in a normal way a boy of his type ? 

2. Effects of Coleridge's overreading as a child. 

3. Coleridge's schooling. 

4. His experience as a soldier. 

5. Outline the " pantisocracy " scheme. Was it practi- 
cable ? Why was it given up ? 



COLERIDGE 267 

6. Was Sara the right wife for Coleridge ? 

7. Was the patronage of the Wedgwoods a good or a bad 
thing for their protege ? 

8. During what space of time did Coleridge compose 
most of his greater poems ? What circumstances combined 
to bring this about ? 

[9. Importance of his study of German philosophy.] 

10. Divide Coleridge's intellectual life into two widely 
different periods. Explain the transformation you observe. 

11. Why did not Coleridge write more poetry ? 

12. Coleridge and opium-eating: facts; effects on him 
and on his work. 

13. Coleridge's life has been called "a midsummer 
night's dream." Explain the appropriateness of the figure. 

[14. Sum up what Coleridge accomplished.] 

Character of Coleridge 

15. Here are extracts showing what several of Coleridge's 
friends thought of him. Why did they consider him so 
wonderful ? 

a. " He is the only person I ever knew who answered to the idea 
of a man of genius." 1 

b. " A saying of Mr. Wordsworth, 'that many men of his age had 
done wonderful things, . . . ; but that Coleridge was the only wonder- 
ful man he ever knew.' " 2 

c. "If there be any man of great and original genius alive at this 
moment, in Europe, it is S. T. Coleridge." 3 

d. " All other men whom I have ever known are mere children to 
him." 4 

e. "The largest and most spacious intellect, the subtlest and most 
comprehensive, that has yet existed among men." 5 

1 Hazlitt. 2 Cottle : Reminiscences, etc. 

8 Professor Wilson. 

4 Southey, the poet, Coleridge's brother-in-law. c De Quincey, 



268 STUDY BOOK IN" ENGLISH LITERATURE 

16. Coleridge said of himself, "I think that my soul 
must have preexisted in the body of a chamois chaser." 
What did he mean ? 

17. Conclude from the following passages whether or not 
Coleridge was a happy man. Explain causes. 

a. " My genial spirits fail ; 

And what can these avail, 
To lift the smothering weight from off my breast ? 

It were a vain endeavor, 

Though I should gaze forever 
On that green light that lingers in the west : 
I may not hope from outward forms to win 
The passion and the life, whose fountains are within. 

" Lady ! we receive but what we give, 
And in our life alone does nature live : 
Ours is her wedding-garment, ours her shroud ! 

But now afflictions bow me down to earth : 
Nor care I that they rob me of my mirth ; 

But oh ! each visitation 
Suspends what nature gave me at my birth, 

My shaping spirit of imagination." 1 

b. " Poetry has been to me its own c exceeding great reward ' ; 
it has soothed my afflictions ; it has multiplied and refined my enjoy- 
ments ; it has endeared solitude : and it has given me the habit of 
wishing to discover the Good and the Beautiful in all that meets and 
surrounds me." 2 

18. Was Coleridge's opium-eating the cause of his weak- 
ness of will, or his weakness of will the cause of the habit ? 

19. " Coleridge thought himself to have certain failings. His re- 
lations fully agreed with him. His worshippers regard these meek 
confessions as mere illustrations of the good man's humility, and even 
manage to endow the poet and philosopher with all the homely virtues 
of the respectable and the solvent. To put forward such claims is to 

1 Dejection : an Ode. 2 Preface to Juvenile Poems. 



COLERIDGE 269 

challenge the iconoclast. He, a person endowed by nature with a 
fine stock of virtuous indignation, has very little trouble in picturing 
the poet-philosopher as a shambling, unreliable, indolent voluptuary, 
to whom an action became impossible so soon as it presented itself as 
a duty, and who, even as a man of genius, must be condemned as un- 
faithful to his high calling." * 

Which is right, the " worshippers " or the " iconoclast " ? 

20. Compare what Hazlitt said of Coleridge's voice when 
he was a young man with what Carlyle said of it when he 
was old. Does the difference correspond to any change in 
his character? 

a. "As he gave out this text his voice ' rose like a steam of rich 
distilled perfumes,' and when he came to the last two words, which he 
pronounced loud, deep, and distinct, it seemed to me, who was then 
young, as if the sounds had echoed from the bottom of the human 
heart, and as if that prayer might have floated in solemn silence 
through the universe. The idea of St. John came into my mind, 
1 of one crying in the wilderness, who had his loins girt about, and 
whose food was locusts and wild honey.' " 2 

b. " His voice, naturally soft and good, had contracted itself into 
a plaintive snuffle and singsong ; he spoke as if preaching, — you would 
have said, preaching earnestly and also hopelessly the weightiest things. 
I still recollect his 4 object ' and ' subject,' terms of continual recurrence 
in the Kantean province ; and how he snuffled them into ' om-m-mject ■ 
and 'sum-m-m-ject,' with a kind of solemn shake or quaver, as he 
rolled along." 3 

[21. In your opinion, would Coleridge have been able, or would he 
not have been able, to write such poetry as he did, if he had been a 
strong, respectable, and self-supporting man ?] 

"This is not the time nor the place to pass judgment on Coleridge the 
man. Doubtless it would have been happier for him had he been endowed 
with the business faculty that makes his friend Wordsworth so almost 
irritatingly respectable. But would it have been happier for us? • We are 
here to-day not to consider what Coleridge owed to himself, to his family, 

1 Stephen, Sir L. : Hours in a Library. 

2 My First Acquaintance with Poets. 
8 Carlyle : Life of Sterling. 



270 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

or to the world, but what we owe to him. Let us at least not volunteer 
to draw his frailties from their dread abode. Our own are a far more 
profitable subject of contemplation. Let the man of imaginative temper- 
ament, who has never procrastinated, who has made all that was possible 
of his powers, cast the first stone." — Lowell : Coleridge. 

Works of Coleridge 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 

" The Ancient Mariner . . .is, without doubt, one of the supreme tri- 
umphs of poetry." — Swinburne : Essays and Studies. 

22. Tell how The Rime of the Ancient Mariner came to be 
written. Who besides Coleridge is responsible for some 
details ; and for what ? 

23. Put into a few words the plot of the poem, showing 
the causes both of the sufferings and of the deliverance. 

24. Try to conceive vividly the weird sea world and the 
strange, uncanny events. 

25. This is one of the few poems that are intended to 
teach a definite moral lesson. What is this lesson ? 

[What other poems express a similar sentiment ? 

26. What means does Coleridge use to keep us from remembering 
that the events of the story are impossible ?] 

21. What was his purpose in introducing the wedding 
guest as a listener to the tale ? 

28. What is the use of the marginal notes ? 

29. Why should the poem be called The Rime of the 
Ancient Mariner instead of TJie Rhyme of the Old Sailor? 
And why does Coleridge use such words as eftsoons, spake, 
kirk ? Find other examples of archaic words. 

30. To what senses does the poem appeal ? Cite illus- 
trative extracts. 

31. Lowell writes of this poem : " There is not a descrip- 
tion in it. It is all picture." l What does he mean ? 

1 Coleridge. 



COLERIDGE 271 

Christabel 

"There is a charm upon these poems [Christabel and Kubla Khan] 
which can only be felt in silent submission of wonder." 

— Swinburne : Essays and Studies. 

Bead the whole of part i before you even look at the 
questions. 

32. By what details are we led to feel that something 
uncanny is going to happen ? 

33. Who do you think Geraldine is, and what do you 
imagine is her purpose ? Why do you think so ? 

34. A critic has said that in a manuscript copy of Chris- 
tabel he saw the line — 

" Hideous, deformed, and pale of hue " 1 

included in the description of Geraldine. What reason 
does the rhyme afford us for believing that this line really 
formed part of the original stanza ? Why do you suppose 
Coleridge cut it out ? 

[What method, used throughout the poem, is illustrated by the cut- 
ting out of that line ?] 

35. Here are two attempts by Coleridge to explain why 
he did not finish Christabel. What do you think was the 
real reason ? 

a. "I tried to perform my promise, but the deep, unutterable dis- 
gust which I had suffered in the translation of the accursed Wallen- 
stein, seemed to have stricken me with barrenness; for I tried and 
tried, and nothing would come of it. I desisted with a deeper dejec- 
tion than I am willing to remember." 2 

b. " I could write as good verses now as ever I did, if I were per- 
fectly free from vexations, and were in the ad libitum hearing of good 
music, which has a sensible effect in harmonizing my thoughts, and in 
animating, and, as it were, lubricating my inventive faculty. The rea- 
son of my not finishing Christabel is not that I don't know how to do 

1 Note in the Globe edition. 2 Letter to Josiah Wedgwood. 



272 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

it — for I have, as I always had, the whole plan entire from beginning 
to end in my mind ; but I fear I could not carry on with equal success 
the execution of the idea, an extremely subtle and difficult one." 1 
See also extract, p. 268. 

36. In the notes of the Globe edition, it is said that the 
Edinburgh Review " declared it \_Christaber\ utterly destitute 
of value, exhibiting from beginning to end not one raj of 
genius." What might be the reason why a critic of that 
day was unable to appreciate the poem ? 

Other Poems 

37. Explain the mood of Dejection by reference to Cole- 
ridge's life. 

38. Can you make out the geography and the plot of 
Kubla Khan ? Give an account of the origin of the poem. 

39. What can you see in the poems that might be the 
effects of opium-eating ? 

40. " My eyes see pictures when they are shut." 2 Find 
several such pictures in the poems. 

41. Quote lines from Coleridge's poems that seem to you 
uncommonly musical. 

42. Choose a particularly beautiful and suggestive extract 
from Coleridge, and work at it until you can bring out by 
oral reading not only the sense but the mood expressed. 

Essay Subjects 

" A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket: let him borrow, and so 
borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine nature accu- 
rately, but write from recollection ; and trust more to your imagination 
than to your memory." — Coleridge : Table Talk. 

Cf. quotation from Wordsworth, p. 263. 

1. Coleridge's boyhood and youth. 

Treat his early life either as preparation for his later life, or in contrast 
to it. 

1 Table Talk. 2 A Day Dream. 



COLERIDGE 273 

2. Coleridge's relations with his friends. 

3. The effect upon Coleridge of his association with 
Wordsworth. 

4. Compare Coleridge and Wordsworth in personal char- 
acter. 

5. Eeasons why Wordsworth was happier than Coleridge. 

6. Comparison of Coleridge with his brother-in-law, 
Southey. 

7. Eeasons for the personal influence of Coleridge on 
other men. 

8. The vital difference between the successful Shakespeare 
and the ineffective Coleridge. 

[9. Effects of opium-eating upon Coleridge and upon his works. 

10. The relation of Coleridge as critic to the literary theory of the 
Romantic School. 

See Coleridge' s Priixciples of Criticism. 

11. The influence of Coleridge as a thinker. 

12. Comparison of Coleridge's pictures of natural objects with those 
of Wordsworth. 

13. Comparison of Wordsworth's theories of poetry with those of 
Coleridge. 

14. Means used by Coleridge to produce the sense of the super- 
natural. 

15. Relation of Coleridge to the " hobgoblin writers." 

Walpole, "Monk Lewis," Beckford, Mrs. Radcliffe. See extracts in 
Chambers's Cyclopedia of English Literature, from which the term is 
taken. There it applies especially to Lewis. 

16. Psychological insight shown in Christabel. 

17. The music of Coleridge's poetry. 

18. A comparison between Coleridge and Hamlet. 

Coleridge, in Table Talk, June 24, 1827, says, " I have a smack of Ham- 
let myself, if I may say so." Read the rest of the passage.] 



CHAPTER XXII 
SHELLEY 

"Each poet gives what he has, and what he can offer; you spread 
before us fairy bread, and enchanted wine, and shall we turn away, with 
a sneer, because, out of all the multitudes of singers, one is spiritual and 
strange, one has seen Artemis unveiled? One, like Anchises, has been 
beloved by the Goddess, and his eyes, when he looks on the common world 
of common men, are, like the eyes of Anchises, blind with excess of light. 
Let Shelley sing of what he saw, what none saw but Shelley! " 

— A. Lang : Letters to Dead Authors. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

Complete Poetical Works. Edited by T. Hutchinson. New mate- 
rials included. 1 vol. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1904. 

Poetical Works. Edited by E. Dowden. 1 vol. London : Macmil- 
lan. 1898. 

II. Life 

Symonds, J. A. : Shelley. London : Macmillan. 1878 ; New 
York : Harper. 1879. English Men of Letters Series. 

Contains an especially sympathetic interpretation of Shelley's char- 
acter. 

Eossetti, W. M. : A Memoir of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Revised 
edition. London : Stark. 1878. 

Mason, E. T. : Personal Traits of British Authors. New York : 
Scribner. 1885. 

Collects from many sources details as to his life and character. 

Dowden, E. : The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley. 2 vols. London : 
Paul. 

The standard detailed biography. 

274 



SHELLEY 275 

Hogg, T. J. : The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley. With an intro- 
duction by E. Dowden. London : Routledge. 1906. The London 
Library. 1858. 

Has a vivid description of Shelley at Oxford. 

Trelawny, E. J. : Becords of Shelley, Byron, and the Author. New 
edition. New York : Dutton. 1905. 

III. Criticism 

Arnold, M. : " Shelley," in Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 

Myers, E. W. H. : Essay on Shelley in Ward : The English Poets, 
vol. iv. 

Shairp, J. C. : " Shelley as a Lyric Poet," in Aspects of Poetry. 
Boston: Houghton. 1882. 

Reading 

Hymn to Intellectual Beauty. 

Stanzas written in Dejection near Naples. 

Ode to the West Wind. 

The Sensitive Plant. 

The Clouds. 

To a Skylark. 

Arethusa. 

Rarely, rarely, contest thou. 

One word is too often profaned. 

Lines to an Indian Air. 

To Jane, — the Invitation. 

To Jane, — the Recollection. 

When the lamp is shattered. 

Hellas: closing chorus. 

\_Alastor. 

This has been called Shelley's most characteristic poem. It contains 
one of Shelley's pictures of himself. 

The Bevolt of Islam ; canto ii, st. iv-vi ; xiii, xv. 

Illustrates Shelley's propagandistic tendency. 

Adonais. 

A very beautiful lament on the death of Keats. It contains another 
piece of self-portraiture, and passages on immortality. 



276 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Epipsychidion. 

More self-portraiture. The description beginning "It is an isle under 
Ionian skies" is very beautiful. Mrs. Shelley says that he had really 
bought such an island. 

All the lyrics written in the years 1820-1822.] 

Memory Passages 

Ode to the West Wind, sts. i, iv, v. 
To a Skylark, sts. i, ii, xviii, xxi. 
Adonais, st. lii. 
Lines to an Indian Air. 

To the Teacher. — In the case of many young people, familiarity with 
certain elements of Shelley's life and character interferes with apprecia- 
tion of the poems. As literature is our first concern, study of the poems 
is put first in order, in the hope that, once their beauty is felt, they may 
induce a sympathetic attitude toward the poet. 

Poems of Shelley 

1. In the Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, just what does the 
poet mean by the " awf ill Loveliness " he apostrophizes ? 
Describe what you think took place in the boyhood expe- 
rience referred to in the fourth and fifth stanzas. 

2. What poems voice moods of depression ? Taking into 
account only internal evidence, draw conclusions as to the 
causes of this sadness. Do you see in any of the poems 
evidence that Shelley had also moods of ecstasy ? 

3. Collect evidence as to the keenness of Shelley's senses, 
and as to the amount of pleasure and pain they gave him. 

4. What subjects did Shelley treat most often? 

[Which subjects did he describe best ?] 

5. Make a list of the poems you would like to have with 
you when you visit Italy, so as to read them on the spot at 
which, or about which, they were written. 






SHELLEY 277 

[6. Explain the origin of the lyric, and show what must therefore 
be the qualities of a good example. How well do Shelley's lyrics 
meet the requirements? Illustrate. 

7. How good are Shelley's love songs, as such ?] 

8. Prove from the poems that Shelley felt the beauty of 
the Greek myths. 

9. Copy into your notebook the passages you personally 
feel to be most beautiful. 

[Can you in any degree analyze or explain the beauty ? 

10. Did Shelley's poetry improve as he grew older ? How did his 
opinions change ? 

11. What does the dream lady in Alastor represent ? 
She has been explained in at least three ways. 

12. Whom does Shelley call Adonais ? Why ? Who was Urania ? 

13. What should you infer from Adonais as to Shelley's views on 
immortality ? 

14. Describe Shelley's conception of himself. 
See pp. 275 f . 

15. Would Shelley ever be a widely popular poet ? What qualities 
must his admirers have ?] 

16. Trace in the following passages two phases of Shel- 
ley's attitude toward Christianity : 

a. ' c Keligion ! . . . 

Who peoplest earth with demons, hell with men, 

And heaven with slaves ! 

Thou taintest all thou look'st upon ! 



Spirit of Nature ! all sufficing Power, 
Necessity ! thou mother of the world ! 
Unlike the God of human error, thou 
Kequirest no prayers or praises." * 

1 Queen Mab, vi. 



278 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

b. " A power from the unknown God, 
A Promethean conqueror came ; 
Like a triumphal path he trod 
The thorns of death and shame. 

The Moon of Mahomet 
Arose, and it shall set ; 
While blason'd as on heaven's immortal noon 
The cross leads generations on." * 

In his lifetime Shelley was accused of being an atheist ; 
was the accusation just ? Consider the two passages sepa- 
rately. 

" I shall say what I think, — had Shelley lived, he would have 
finally ranged himself with the Christians." 2 

Do you agree with this opinion ? 

[17. " His poetry is the poetry of desire. He is ever the homo 
desideriorum ; always thirsty, always yearning." 3 Quote passages 
that illustrate this. 

18. Find in the poems proof of this judgment of Myers: 

" If we are told of the crudity of his teaching and of his conceptions of 
life, we answer that what we find in him is neither a code nor a philoso- 
phy, but a rarer thing, — an example, namely (as it were in an angel or 
in a child), of the manner in which the littleness and the crimes of men 
shock a pure spirit which has never compromised with their ignobility nor 
been tainted with their decay." 4 

19. Name poems or select passages from Shelley that illustrate each 
of the ideas expressed by Mr. Watson in the following stanzas : 

" Impatient of the world's fixed way, 
He ne'er could suffer God's delay, 
But all the future in a day 

Would build divine, 
And the whole past in ruins lay, 

An emptied shrine. 

1 Hellas. 2 Browning, K. : Essay on Shelley. 

3 Hutton, R. H. : Essays, Theological and Literary. 

4 Myers, F. W. H. : essay on Shelley in Ward : The English Poets. 






SHELLEY 279 



" Vain vision! but the glow, the fire, 
The passion of benign desire, 
The glorious yearning, lift him higher 

Than many a soul 
That mounts a million paces nigher 

Its meaner goal. 



" A creature of impetuous breath, 
Our torpor deadlier than death 
He knew not; whatsoe'er he saith 

Flashes with life : 
He spurreth men, he quickeneth 

To splendid strife. 

" And in his gusts of song he brings 
Wild odors shaken from strange wings, 
And unfamiliar whisperings 

From far lips blown, 
While all the rapturous heart of things 

Throbs through his own." * 

20. "A beautiful but ineffectual angel beating in the void his 
luminous wings in vain." 2 To what degree and in what respect is 
this saying of Matthew Arnold's true ? Is Shelley really "ineffec- 
tual"? Explain. 

21. " He [Shelley] was not an author, but a bard. His poetry seems 
not to have been an art, but an inspiration. Had he lived to the full age 
of man, he might not improbably have given to the world some great 
work of the highest rank in design and execution." 3 

Is there any lack of logical sequence here ? 

See quotation from Shelley's Defence of Poetry, p. 286. 

Do you agree with what Macaulay says in the last sentence, or do 
you think Shelley had already done work as great as he was capable 
of doing? 

22. What ideas about the character of Shelley do you get from 
reading the poems?] 

1 Shelley's Centenary. 

2 Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 

3 Macaulay : Essays. 



280 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Life of Shelley 

To the Teacher. — The topics on the life are unusually full, both 
because of the difficulties and opportunities presented by the subject, and 
as some indication of possible lines to be followed in the study of the lives 
of later authors, for which less and less direction is purposely given. It 
is recommended that students be asked to tabulate in their notebooks 
the biographical facts, with the names of Shelley's poems according to the 
dates of composition ; and that the facts of the life be made to throw new 
lights upon the poetry. 

"If ever a poet expressed himself fully in his verse, it was Shelley. 
There is nothing in his life which you will not find written somewhere in ' 
it. . . . In this diary of lyrics he has noted down whatever most moved 
him, in a vivid record of the trace of every thrill or excitement, on nerves, 
or sense, or soul." — A. Symonds : " Shelley," Atlantic Monthly. 

"His poetry is indeed made out of his life; but what was his life to 
Shelley ? The least visible part of his dreams." — Ibid. 

23. Does Shelley illustrate in any way the law of heredity ? 

24. " Mr. Timothy Shelley was in no sense a bad man ; but he was 
everything which the poet's father ought not to have been." x 

Explain. What traits ought Mr. Shelley to have had, in 
order to have been able to be a good father to this poet ? 

25. What signs of promise can you point out in Shelley's 
boyhood ? 

26. Describe the stories Bysshe told to his little brothers 
and sisters, and the games he invented. How are these 
things significant ? 

[For an interesting parallel, see the autobiography of Goethe.] 

27. Shelley's reading as a boy ; its relation to his mental 
growth. His scientific experiments : do they seem to you a 
natural episode in the youth of a poet ? 

28. Point out facts in Shelley's school and university 
life that show whether or not he was a docile pupil. What 
trait of his character is thus illustrated ? 

1 Symonds, J. A. : English Men of Letters Series. 



SHELLEY 281 

[Do you think wise training could have made him different in this 
respect ?] 

29. To what studies did Shelley really devote himself? 
Why did he have a taste for just these subjects ? 

[What did they do toward his development ?] 

30. Shelley's character as shown by his rooms at college. 

31. How old was Shelley when his body stopped grow- 
ing ? When did he come to his intellectual maturity ? 
How are the facts significant ? 

32. Were Shelley's dress, appearance, and manner, in his 
youth, like those of other people ? 

See Hogg ; and Mason. 

33. Was the University of Oxford right or wrong in ex- 
pelling Shelley ? 

34. Was Shelley in love with Harriet ? If not, why did 
he marry her ? 

35. Shelley's self-education. Make a list of the books he 
read, the languages he mastered, the subjects he studied with- 
out a teacher, both in college and afterwards. Did either of 
his wives help him in his studies ? 

[36. From what writers did he draw his opinions ? 

37. The French Ke volution, we saw, had a powerful effect upon the 
sane and strong-minded Wordsworth. What effect did it have upon 
Shelley ? Compare the effects in the two cases, and account for any 
difference. 

Take into account, not only the difference in temperament and circum- 
stances of the two men, but the difference in dates. How had the attitude 
of England toward revolutionary ideas changed since Wordsworth was in 
Paris as a young man ?] 

38. How did Shelley come to feel so strongly the evils of 
the world ? Was it through experience ? Eeading ? Tem- 
perament ? 

39. What became of Harriet ? Was the disaster Shelley's 
fault ? 



282 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

40. Find out all you can about Mary Godwin. Was she 
a good wife for Shelley ? 

Her mother wrote a book called The Rights of Women, which is an early 
and very interesting book on the woman question. Mary herself wrote, 
among other things, a hair-raising tale called Frankenstein. Her notes on 
her husband's poems also help to suggest her personality. 

See F. A. Marshall: Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ; 
L. M. Rossetti : Mrs. Shelley. London : W. H. Allen. 1890. Eminent 
Women Series. 

41. Were Shelley and Mary doing what they thought 
wrong when they left England together ? What opinions 
about marriage had Mary learned from her father and 
mother ? What did Shelley think about the question ? 
Were they consistent in marrying after Harriet's death ? 
Explain that step. Did their unconventional course result 
in happiness ? 

[42. Was the English court justifiable in taking away from Shelley 
his children by his first marriage ?] 

43. What things did Shelley do that caused many people 
to think him bad ? Do you agree with these people, or with 
Mr. Symonds, who considers him " strongly moralized after 
a peculiar and inborn type of excellence " ? Explain. 

44. How did Shelley take the misunderstanding and scorn 
of society ? What effects, if any, did it have upon his work ? 

45. Why did Shelley travel so constantly ? How should 
you expect his travels to affect his poetry ? Did they have 
such an effect ? 

46. Places Shelley visited in Italy. 

This might form a report, preferably by some one who has visited Italy. 
It should, of course, be illustrated. See McMahan, A. B. : With Shelley in 
Italy. Chicago: McClurg. 1905. 

47. Shelley did not believe in the dependence of the mind 
on the body. If he had understood the importance of making 
the body a good servant, what definite things could he have 



SHELLEY 283 

done and avoided which would have made his life happier 
and more effective ? 

48. What did Shelley wish to accomplish for men ? What 
was his method of reform ? His theory of the speed with 
which the reform could be accomplished ? 

[Do you see in his theories any ignorance of psychological prin- 
ciples ?] 

49. Did Shelley put his principles into practice in his 
own life ? 

50. Explain the motives from which Shelley did the fol- 
lowing things : 

Look up the circumstances in each case, or you will be unable to pass 
judgment. 

a. Went to Ireland. 

b. Distributed as he did his Address to the Irish People. 

c. Distributed the Declaration of Bights, by floating it 

on the sea in bottles. 

d. Became a vegetarian. 

e. Invited Harriet to live with him and Mary. 

/. Invited others, even perfect strangers, to share his 
home. 

In what cases did he do this ? 

g. Urged Emilia Viviani to escape with his aid from 
the place where she was imprisoned, and fly 
with him. 

51. What was the ruling motive of Shelley ? 

52. Name Shelley's closest friends. How did they feel 
toward him ? 

53. Why did he have so many women friends ? 

54. How did he write his poems ? 

55. During what years were his greatest poems written ? 



284 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

56. Give the circumstances of his death. 

57. Judging merely from the facts of his life, — health, 
habits, circumstances, etc., — do you think, as many do, that 
if he had lived he would have become a much greater poet ? 

58. Was Shelley the sort of man you thought him from 
reading his poems ? 

Essay Subjects 

"The whole art of criticism consists in learning to know the human 
being who is partly revealed to us in his spoken or his written words." 

— Stephen : Hours in a Library. 

1. An imaginary interview, in which all you can learn 
about Shelley's dress, appearance, manner, habits of life, and 
habitual surroundings, is made to bring out his character. 

[2. Did Shelley " correspond with his environment " ?] 

3. Is Shelley's school record exceptional among those of 
great writers? 

Look back over the lives of the writers we have studied. Take into 
consideration also the school life of Cooper, Irving, Hawthorne, Lowell. 



4. Shelley's hallucinations. 

5. Hogg's picture of Shelley. 

6. Shelley as his friends saw him. 

See Hogg, Trelawny, Mrs. Shelley's notes to the Poems, and passages 
quoted in Mason and in the biographies. 

7. Mary Shelley. 
For references, see p. 282. 

8. Shelley's habits in regard to reading. 

9. Shelley's love of boating. 

10. Shelley as a reformer. 

11. Was Shelley a Socialist ? 
See The Revolt of Islam. 






SHELLEY 285 

12. Shelley as "the Don Quixote of poetry." x 

Lowell has applied the epithet to Spenser. Which poet does it fit better ? 
See Don Quixote, pt. I, bk. i, ch. i, viii; bk. iii, ch. xxii; pt. II; bk. ii, ch. 
xxix. 

13. Shelley's " unworldliness." 2 

14. Shelley's last days, as described by Trelawny, or by 

Mary Shelley. 

Try to conceive and depict the feelings of the survivors, day by day. 
Take into account the omens, the reasons for anxiety, the long suspense, 
the fatal news, the pyre and burial. 

15. The wind in Shelley's poetry. 

16. Shelley's pictures of clouds. 

He has been called by W. M. Rossetti a " cloud-compeller." Consider 
form, color, movement, feeling. See not only The Cloud, but The Ode 
to the West Wind, and other passages. Cf. Coleridge's descriptions of 
clouds. • 

[17. Shelley's pictures of himself. 

18. Was Shelley an atheist ? 

19. Apology for Shelley. 

20. The breadth of Shelley's culture. 

21. Comparison of Adonais with classic elegies. 

See Moschus' Lament for Bion, and Bion's Lament for Adonis, in The- 
ocritus, Bion, and Moschus. — Golden Treasury Series. 

22. Comparison of Adonais and Milton's Lycidas as elegies. 

23. An interpretation of one of the difficult poems ; i. e., Alastor, 
Epipsychidion, Adonais, The Witch of Atlas. 

24. Effects of Shelley's wide reading upon his poetry. 

25. The mood expressed most often in Shelley's poems. 

26. Shelley's opinions as to immortality. 

27. Shelley as the homo desideriorum. 
See p. 278. 

28. Is Matthew Arnold's opinion of Shelley just ? 
See p. 279. 

1 Courthope, W. J. : The Liberal Movement in English Literature, 

2 Editor's note on Queen Mab. 



286 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

29. The probable future of Shelley if he had lived. 

30. Shelley's habits of composition. 

''Poetry is not like reasoning a power to be exerted according to the 
determination of the will. A man cannot say, 'I will compose poetry.' 
The greatest poet even cannot say it, for the mind in creation is as a 
fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, 
awakens to transitory brightness ; this power arises from within, like the 
color of a flower which fades and changes. as it is developed, and the con- 
scious portions of our natures are unprophetic either of its approach or of 
its departure. Could this influence be durable in its original purity and 
force, it is impossible to predict the greatness of the results ; but when 
composition begins, inspiration is already on the decline; and the most 
glorious poetry that has ever been communicated to the world is probably 
a feeble shadow of the original conceptions of the poet." 

— Shelley : Defence of Poetry. 

See also his biographies, and Mrs. Shelley's notes on the Poems. 

31. " Great wits are sure to madness near allied, 

And thin partitions do their bounds divide." 1 

Discuss this dictum with special reference to Shelley.] 
1 Dryden : Absalom and AchitopheL 



CHAPTER XXIII 

BYROST 

" The grand Napoleon of the realms of rhyme." 

— Byron : Don Juan. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

The Poetical Works of Lord Byron. Edited by E. H. Coleridge. 
Memoir. 1 vol. New York : Scribner. 1905. 

Chiide Harold's Pilgrimage. Edited, with introduction, by H. 
E. Tozer. Notes. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1888. 

II. Life 

Nichol, J. : Byron. London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 
1880. English Men of Letters Series. 

Noel, R. B. W.: Life of Lord Byron. London: W. Scott. 1890. 
Great Writers Series 

Contemporary Accounts : 

Hunt, J. H. L. : Lord Byron and some of his Contemporaries. Re- 
vised edition. London : Smith and Elder. 1885. 

Trelawny, E. J.: Becollections of Shelley, Byron, and the author. 
New edition. New York : Dutton. 1881. 

III. Criticism 
By Contemporaries: 

Haziitt, W. : The Spirit of the Age. London: Bell. 1886. 

Jeffrey, F. : Modern British Essayists. Philadelphia : Hart. 1852. 
Vol.vi. 

Scott, Sir W. : Critical and Miscellaneous Essays. 3 vols. Phila- 
delphia: Carey and Hart. 1841. 

287 



288 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

By Later Critics: 

Arnold, M. : "Byron," in Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 
New York : Macmillan. 

Dowden, E. : " Byron," in Studies in Literature. London : Kegan 
Paul. 1878. 

Lang, A.: " To Lord Byron," in Letters to Dead Authors. New 
York : Longmans. 1892. 

Macaulay, T. B. : " Moore's Life of Lord Byron," in Essays. 

Reading 

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage : 

Waterloo, bk. iii, sts. xvii-xxviii. 
Venice, bk. iv, sts. i-iv, xi, xviii. 
Rome, bk. iv, sts. lxxviii-lxxxii. 
Gladiator, bk. iv, sts. cxl-cxli. 
Ocean, bk. iv, sts. clxxviii-clxxxiv. 

The Prisoner of CMllon. 

Maid of Athens, ere we part. 

Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle. 

The Destruction of Sennacherib. 

There's not a joy the world can give. 

Mazeppa, sts. ix-xx. 

On this Day I complete my Thirty-Sixth Year. 



Memory Passages 
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage : 
Ocean, iv, sts. clxxviii-clxxxiv. 
Waterloo, in ; sts. xxi, xxii, xxiv, xxv, xxviii. 

Life of Byron 

To the Teacher. — Guidance in the study of authors' lives will from 
now on grow less and less. It is not meant that less attention should 
be paid to the historical, biographical, and temperamental forces that 
helped to mould an author; the purpose is rather that the student should 






BYEON 289 

acquire the power and the habit of distinguishing such influences for him- 
self. Most of the topics that follow point to a wide field of study. In this 
first case, the teacher, after the students have gained some acquaintance 
with the life, may help them to analyze the topics. A tentative list of 
natural gifts, influential individualities, and external circumstances may 
be made in class. Then this list may be enlarged by the student on 
further study, and each of the resulting subtopics may be studied in 
detail. 

1. "The pretty fable by which the Duchess of Orleans illustrated 
the character of her son the Regent might, with little change, be ap- 
plied to Byron. All the fairies, save one, had been bidden to his 
cradle. All the gossips had been profuse of their gifts. One had 
bestowed nobility, another genius, a third beauty. The malignant 
elf who had been uninvited came last, and, unable to reverse what 
her sisters had done for their favorite, had mixed up a curse with 
every blessing." 1 

"What were the blessings, and what were the curses mixed 
with each ? E.g., if his noble birth was a blessing, what 
was the curse mixed with it ? 

2. Consider, one by one, the different persons — relatives, 
friends, wife, rivals, etc., — who influenced Byron's charac- 
ter; and show in each case what the influence was, and 
whether it was bad or good. Was he influenced by any 
among the dead? 

Symonds writes: " The impressions made upon his sensitive nature by 
the persons with whom he came in contact were vivid and indelible." 2 

3. " Byron's . . . character was powerfully biased by ex- 
ternal circumstance." 3 What were the facts o£ external 
circumstance that affected his character most powerfully? 
(E.g., rank, suddenness of his fame.) Show the conse- 
quences of each. 

4. Name his chief poems, giving the circumstances under 
which each was written. 

1 Macaulay : Essays. 2 Ward : Tfye English Poets. 3 ihia\ 



290 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

5. Explain or combat the following references to Byron, 
by giving facts about his life and character : 

a. " The grand Napoleon of the realms of rhyme." 1 

b. "The Pilgrim of Eternity, whose fame 

Over his living head like heaven is bent." 2 

c. " Mad, bad, and dangerous to know." 3 

d. " Cads of a rare water." 4 

6. Did Byron live, as he died, for the cause of freedom 
and humanity ; or what was his chief aim in life ? Com- 
pare him in this respect with Shelley. 

7. Outline the main traits of Byron's character, illustrat- 
ing each by details and anecdotes. 

Poems of Byron 

8. Upon what kinds of subjects did Byron usually write ? 
Compare his themes with those of Wordsworth. 

9. In most of the passages assigned for reading, there 
are elements derived from the life or the character of the 
author. Point out these elements in each case. E.g., in 
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, what journeys of the author are 
described ? Does the hero represent Byron, or Byron's 
idea of himself, or the idea Byron wished his readers to 
have of him, or all, or none, of these ? 

10. How much plot has Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ? 

11. Point out in this poem descriptions you consider 
good. Do they make you see the thing described ? How 
do they make you feel about it ? 

12. What descriptions of historical scenes occur in the 
reading assigned ? Do these accounts give you a vivid sense 
of the past reality ? Do they give you something else ? 

1 See p. 287. 2 Shelley : Adonais. 3 Lady Caroline Lamb. 

4 Stevenson : Gentlemen (of Byron and Napoleon). 



BYRON 291 

13. How many types of character do you find depicted 
in the poems you have read? What conclusion do you 
draw in regard to Byron's imagination ? 

14. Do you consider the way Byron talks of himself in 
good taste ? Explain. 

15. Is the gloom so often expressed in Byron's poetry 
real or assumed, or a little of both ? If you think it is real 
in any degree, explain its cause. If you think it is assumed, 
why should Byron adopt such a pose ? 

16. Judging from the poems assigned, do you think that 
Byron felt toward nature as Shelley did? As Wordsworth did? 

[Compare the attitude of the three poets, adducing illustrative 
extracts.] 

17. Why have Hie Destruction of Sennacherib and others 
of Byron's short poems been favorites for declamation ? 

18. Why have certain of his songs been often sung ? 

[19. Study of the following characteristic passages, both from Childe 
Harold's Pilgrimage, ought to enable you to make out several facts 
about Byron's style. Eead the stanzas aloud two or three times, 
trying to express the spirit. 

a. " The sky is changed ! — and such a change ! O night, 
And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, 
Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light 
Of a dark eye in woman ! Far along, 
From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, 
Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud, 
But every mountain now hath found a tongue ; 
And Jura answers, through her misty shroud, 
Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud! 

" And this is in the night : — Most glorious night! 
Thou wert not sent for slumber ! let me be 
A sharer in thy fierce and far delight — 
A portion of the tempest and of thee ! 
How the lit lake shines, a phosphoric sea, 
And the big rain comes dancing to the earth ! 
And now again 'tis black, — and now, the glee 



292 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain mirth, 

As if they did rejoice o'er a young earthquake's birth." 

b. " Hark ! heard you not those hoofs of dreadful note ? 
Sounds not the clang of conflict on the heath ? 
Saw ye not whom the reeking sabre smote ; 
Nor saved your brethren ere they sank beneath 
Tyrants and tyrants' slaves ? — the fires of death, 
The bale-fires flash on high : — from rock to rock, 
Each volley tells that thousands cease to breathe : 
Death rides upon the sulphury Siroc, 
Red battle stamps his foot, and nations feel the shock.' ' 

Which passage, do you suppose, was written first? 
How do the passages make you feel ? Of what does either remind 
you ? Notice 

(1) The frequent use of certain marks of punctuation ; why is 

this so ? 

(2) Examples of personification, and their value here. 

(3) Any peculiarity in the use of initial consonants. 

(4) Any peculiarity in the use of vowels. 

(5) Any imperfect rhymes ; ill-chosen words ; examples of poor 

grammar. 

20. How is either passage characteristic of the author ? 

21. Byron's poems have been said to express great energy. Eind 
passages that illustrate this. 

22. Choose among the following adjectives those you think apply 
to some poem of Byron's, or to his poetry in general. Find other 
suitable descriptive terms. Clear, eloquent, polished, impetuous, beau- 
tiful, melodious, sentimental, ardent, rhetorical, simple, fervent, swift, 
peaceful, fiery. 

23. Describe the meter of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Where 
have you found it before ? After what poet is the stanza named, and 
why ? How is it different in the hands of Byron from what it was as 
written by the earlier poet ? 

24. What were Byron's opinions about Pope and the other Clas- 
sicists ? About the Romantic poets who were his contemporaries ? 
Illustrate by quotations. Was he a wise critic ? What light do his 
critical judgments throw upon his own poetic ideals ? 

See English Bards and Scotch Reviewers ; also biography. 






BYRON 293 

25. From the following references to Byron by Shelley, deduce his 
opinion of Byron as a poet. 

a. " Tempest-cleaving swan of Albion." * 

b. " The sun 2 has extinguished the glow-worm. 3 " 4 

c. " I despair of rivalling Lord Byron, as well I may." 5 

See also 5, 6. 

Which of the two poets do you consider superior ? Explain Shel- 
ley's opinion. 

26. Which poetry could be translated with less sacrifice : that of 
Shelley, that of Wordsworth, or that of Byron ? Explain, comparing 
definite passages. 

27. Great attention is paid to Byron at the Sorbonne (the great 
university at Paris) and in German universities. Georg Brandes, the 
Danish critic, gives prominence to Byron in his Naturalism in Eng- 
land. 6 Why should Byron be so highly esteemed on the Continent ? 
What themes, in Childe Harold? s Pilgrimage, for instance, would 
partly explain this ? What qualities in his poems ? 

28. Why was Byron so popular with his countrymen in his day, 
and for some time afterward ; and why did this vogue in so great 
measure pass away ? Do you think, with some of the critics, that it 
will return ? 

Some idea of how great his popularity was is given by the following 
extract from Macaulay's essay: "The number of hopeful undergraduates 
and medical students who became things of dark imaginings, on whom the 
freshness of the heart ceased to fall like dew, whose passions had consumed 
themselves to dust, and to whom the relief of tears was denied, passes all 
calculation. This was not the worst. There was created in the minds of 
many of these enthusiasts .a pernicious and absurd association between in- 
tellectual power and moral depravity. From the poetry of Lord Byron 
they drew a system of ethics ... in which the two great commandments 
were, to hate your neighbor, and to love your neighbor's wife." 

29. In what form did the struggle for freedom, which is characteris- 
tic of the Komantic poets, show itself in Byron ?] 

1 Rosalind and Helen. 2 Byron. 3 Shelley himself. 

4 Letters. 5 Ibid. 

6 Vol. iv of Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature. 



294 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Essay Subjects 

1. The mistakes of Byron's mother in bringing up her 
son. 

2. The moral education of Byron. 

[3. The development of Byron's imagination : its food, manifesta- 
tions, growth, tendencies.] 

4. The relations between Byron and his sister Augusta. 

5. Byron's travel and adventures, with their effects 
upon his poetry. 

6. Byron and his wife. 
Why did they separate ? 

7. Relations between Scott and Byron in private life. 
What was their relation hef ore their readers ? 

8. Moore and Byron. 

[9. The causes of Byron's vogue.] 

10. Mr. Symonds calls Byron "well-born but ill-bred." 1 

Do you accept the judgment ? Support or combat the 

opinion. 

In what does good breeding consist? See Newman, " The Man of the 
World," in The Idea of a University ; Hazlitt, On the Look of a Gentleman, 

11. Was Byron a cad ? 
See p. 290. 

12. Compare Byron and Napoleon. 
See p. 290. 

[13. Trace the association of Shelley and Byron, pointing out its 
effects on the two men and on their poetry. Symonds writes : " The 
formation of Shelley's friendship at this epoch must be reckoned one 
of the most fortunate and decisive events of Byron's life." 2 ] 

14. Compare the way Shelley's friends spoke of him, in 
the records we have, with the way Byron's friends are 
known to have spoken of him. 

i Ward : The English Poets. 2 Ibid. 



BYRON 295 

15. Did Byron pose ? 

16. Byron's "recurrent hero." 1 

See Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, i, ii— xiii ; in, xvi; Manfred, ii; The 
Giaour, i, beginning, " Who thundering comes on blackest steed? " 
[17. Was Byron an atheist ? 
See Manfred, Cain, and various references in his letters. 

18. Compare Byron's self-portraiture with Shelley's. 

19. Byron's descriptions. 

Subjects, effects obtained, kinds of detail used — e.g., light and shade, 
color, sound. 

20. The qualities of Byron's poetry that are really great.] 

iNichol. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
KEATS 

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." 

— Keats: Endymion. 

Bibliography 

I. Life 

Colvin S. : Keats. London : Macmillan ; New York : Harper. 
1887. English Men of Letters Series. 

Forman, H. Buxton : Letters of John Keats. Kevised edition. 
London : Reeves and Turner. 1895. 

Contains reproductions of contemporary views of places that Keats 
visited. 

Mason, E. T. : Personal Traits of British Authors. New York : 
Scribner. 1885. 

Accounts of Keats by his friends : 

Clarke, C. C. and M. C. : Eecollections of Writers. New York : 
Scribner. 1879. 

Haydon, B. R. : Correspondence and Table Talk. London : Chatto. 
1876. 

Hunt, L. : Autobiography. Revised edition, edited by T. Hunt. 
London : Smith and Elder. 1885. 

Severn, J. : The Vicissitudes of Keats' ] s Fame. Atlantic Monthly. 
xi, p. 401. 

II. Works 

Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats. Edited by 
H. E. Scudder. 1 vol. Boston : Houghton. 1899. Cambridge edi- 
tion. 

Letters of John Keats. Edited by S. Colvin. London: Macmil- 
lan. 1891. 

296 






KEATS 297 

III. Criticism 

Arnold, M. : u Keats," in Essays in Criticism, Second Series. 
London : Macmillan. 

Reading 

On first Looking into Chapman's Homer. 
Hymn to Pan, in Endymion, bk, i. 

Lovers of poetry will read at least all the first book. Keats wrote (in a 
letter to Bailey) about the length of Endymion : "Do not the Lovers of 
Poetry like to have a little Region to wander in, where they may pick and 
choose, and in which the images are so numerous that many are forgotten 
and found new in a second reading: which may be food for a Week's 
stroll in the Summer? " 

The Eve of St. Agnes. 

La Belle Dame sans Merci. 

Ode on a Grecian Urn. 

Ode to a Nightingale. 

To Autumn. 

[Hyperion. 

" His fragment of 'Hyperion' seems actually inspired by the Titans, 
and is as sublime as Aeschylus. " — Byron.] 

Memory Passages 
On first Looking into Chapman's Homer. 
Endymion, i, 1-24. 
Ode to a Nightingale, st. 7. 
Ode on a Grecian Urn, st. 5. 

Life and Character of Keats 

To the Teacher. — See note, pp. 288 f . 

1. Keats's triumph over his environment. 

This implies two topics : (1) In what respects his environment was 
hostile ; (2) by what means he conquered it. 

2. How diligently, and with what success, did Keats 
apply himself to the study of surgery ? Why did he give it 



298 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

up ? Was he like the apothecary in Kipling's " Wireless " ? l 
Compare his case with that of Goldsmith. 

3. Trace the influence upon him of each condition, per- 
son, event, that helped to mold his character, his work, and 
his fate. 

4. Name in order all his poems, telling what you can of 
the conditions under which they were written. 

5. Through his acts and words, trace the development of 

his character. 

See not only the biography, but his Letters. Matthew Arnold's essay 
is suggestive. This would make a good essay subject. 

6. His friends, in fun, used to shorten " John Keats " 
into " Junkets." How was the nickname appropriate ? 

7. Give the facts concerning the hostile criticism of 
Endymion. Was Keats really " snuffed out by an article " ? 

This expression is from Byron's Don Juan. The lines referring to 
Keats read : 

" 'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle, 
Should let itself be snuff d out by an article." 

Quote from Keats's letters of October, 1818, passages that settle the 
question. 

8. Keats's disease : causes, progress, effect upon his state 
of mind. 

9. How would the medical science of to-day have treated 
the case of Keats ? 

10. Keats in Italy with Severn. 

Poems of Keats 

11. Classify Keats's subjects under three heads. 

12. What are the " realms of gold" mentioned in the 

sonnet On first Looking into Chapman } s Homer? Name some 

of the " goodly states and kingdoms " where you yourself 

have traveled. 

1 Traffics and Discoveries. 



KEATS 299 

13. " . . . One of the most remarkable characteristics of Keats is 
the universality of his sensuousness." . . . "There are sea and cloud 
in his poetry, as well as herbage and turf ; he is as rich in mineralogical 
and zoological circumstance as in that of botany." x Prove each 
point by abundant quotations from the poems. 

14. Give an account of the superstition on which The Eve 
of St. Agnes is based- 
See Chambers : Book of Days. 

15. " If I should die, I have left no immortal works behind 
me . . . ; but I have loved the principle of beauty in all 
things." 2 Show the truth of the last clause, indicating the 
different fields that are included in his " all things. " 

[16. Is there any truth in the following criticism by Jeffrey of Keats's 
poetry ? Is it equally true (or false) of early and later poems ? 

"His [ornaments] are poured out without measure or restraint, and 
with no apparent design but to unburden the breast of the author, and give 
vent to the overflowing vein of his fancy. The thin and scanty tissue of 
his story is merely the light framework on which his florid wreaths are 
suspended ; and while his imaginations go rambling and entangling them- 
selves everywhere, like wild honeysuckles, all idea of sober reason, and 
plan, and consistency, is utterly forgotten, and ' strangled in their waste 
fertility.' A great part of the work, indeed, is written in the strangest and 
most fantastical manner that can be imagined. It seems -as if the author 
had ventured everything that occurred to him in the shape of a glittering 
image or striking expression — taken the first word that presented itself to 
make up a rhyme, and then made that word the germ of a new cluster of 
images — a hint for a new excursion of the fancy — and so wandered on, 
equally forgetful whence he came, and heedless whither he was going, till 
he had covered his pages with an interminable arabesque of connected and 
incongruous figures, that multiplied as they extended, and were only har- 
monized by the brightness of their tints, and the graces of their forms." 3 ] 

17. Keats's later poems cannot be appreciated unless they 
are studied " letter by letter/' as Euskin would have us study 

1 Masson, D. : Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and other Essays. 

2 Keats's Letters. 

3 Jeffrey, F. : Contributions to the Edinburgh Review. 



300 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATURE 

literature. (See Sesame and Lilies.) In the Ode to a Nightin- 
gale, look up all the allusions, and puzzle out the sense of 
the difficult passages. The following questions on the first 
stanza may help you to question yourself about the others. 
Write out in your notebook annotations to the poem. Then 
sum up, in your own words, the meaning of the poem as a 
whole. 

" My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains 

Just what is the poet's mood at the beginning? 
Why does his " heart ache "? 

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, 

What is the " hemlock " spoken of here, and what 
famous man drank of it ? 

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains 

What is an opiate ? Why should it be called " dull ' ' ? 
Why is it introduced here ? What are " drains " ? 

One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk : 

Where was the river of Lethe? What peculiarity 
had its waters ? Why Lethe-wards f 

1 Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, 
But being too happy in thy happiness, — 

Construction of ''being " ? 

That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, 

What was a Dryad ? What was the special name of 
a "Dryad of the trees " ? 

In some melodious plot 

Why " melodious plot " ? 
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, 
Singest of summer in full-throated ease." 

Why "full-throated ease "? 



18. The opening of The Eve of St. Agnes is printed 
low, with certain details in italics. Show how these details 
all tend to reenf orce some one idea or feeling. 



be- 



KEATS 301 

" St. Agnes' Eve — Ah, bitter chill it was ! 

The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold; 

The hare limped trembling through the frozen grass, 

And silent was the flock in woolly fold ; 

Numb were the Beadsman's fingers, while he told 

His rosary, and while his frosted breath 

Like pious incense from a censer old, 

Seem'd taking flight for heaven, without a death, 
Past the sweet Virgin's picture, while his prayer he saith. 

" His prayer he saith, this patient, holy man ; 

Then takes his lamp, and riseth from his knees, 

And back returneth, meagre, barefoot, wan, 

Along the chapel aisle by slow degrees : 

The sculptured dead, on each side, seem to freeze, 

Emprison d in black, purgatorial rails : 

Knights, ladies, praying in dumb orat'ries, 

He passeth by ; and his weak spirit fails 
To think how they may ache in icy hoods and mails." 

19. Point out any similar unity of keynote in To Autumn; 
in the description of Saturn at the beginning of Hyperion. 
Point out other descriptions in Keats's poetry where there 
is a focusing of impressions. 

20. Why does Keats set the love scene in The Eve of 
St. Agnes on so cold a night? In the midst of the din 
of a feast of enemies ? Point out, all the way through, 
reminders of these two elements in the environment. 

21. From the references given in the poem, describe the 
Grecian urn upon which Keats's ode was written. Is there 
known to exist any real urn which exactly corresponds to 
the description ? 

[22. Henley 1 compares Keats's The Eve of St. Agnes with Tenny- 
son's poem of the same title, in respect to the use of color. What 
difference can you see in this respect ? What is the reason for the 
difference ? 

1 Yieivs and Reviews. 



302 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

23. In the description of the feast, why does Keats introduce so 
many geographical names ? 

Look up the places named. Read the passage aloud. Think of the 
circumstances. How much should we have lost if we had been left to 
iufer that Porphyrio had bought these things at the store? 

24. The critic Whipple says of The Eve of St. Agnes, " The sense 
of luxury is its predominant characteristic." 1 Do you agree ? 

25. What elevated conception is the root idea of Hyperion f 

26. Why must the Titans yield to the younger gods ? What was 
the attitude of the Titans toward their defeat ? 

27. Put into simpler language the following lines : 
Context will often help. 

a. " Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all 

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." 2 

Compare these words in one of his letters: "I never can feel certain 
of any truth but from a clear perception of its Beauty." 3 See also letter 
toB. Bailey, November 22, 1817. 

b. " A thing of beauty is a joy forever." 4 

c. " Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard 

Are sweeter." 5 

28. Does Keats' s work show, as Shelley's and Wordsworth's do, 
the influence of the French Revolution ? Explain. 

29. "■.-■'.. The source of his [Keats's] inspiration is Sculpture and 
Painting. . . . We see him in ' Endymion ' constantly trying to repro- 
duce, in words, the image of some landscape or figure which he remembers 
in painting." 6 

Do you agree ? If so, try to point out such attempts. 

30. What justification is there in Keats's work for the opinion held 
by some that he would have become, if he had lived, one of our greatest 
poets ? 

What qualities must a great poetic genius possess ? Did Keats prove 
himself to have these qualities?] 

1 Essays and Reviews, 2 Ode on a Grecian Urn. 

8 Letter to George and Georgiana Keats. 

4 Endymion. 5 Ode on a Grecian Urn. 

6 Courthope, W. J.: The Liberal Movement in English Literature. 



KEATS 303 

Essay Subjects 

11 Load every rift of your subject with ore." 

— Keats : Letter to Shelley. 

1. The promise of Keats's boyhood. 

2. Keats and his brothers. 

3. Hampstead Heath, when Keats, Hunt, and their 
friends walked and talked there. 

See Massou: Wordsioorth, Shelley, and Keats, pp. 150 ff. 

4. Keats's personal appearance. 

5. Keats's pleasures. 

6. The circle of Keats' s friends : Hunt, Keynolds, Shel- 
ley, Haydon, Miss Georgiana Wylie, Severn. 

See Keats's biography ; Letters ; also, for accounts of the friends them- 
selves, the Dictionary of National Biography . 

7. Compare Keats and Goldsmith as medical students. 

8. The part played by Keats's personal powers and reso- 
lution in making him a poet. 

9. Keats as seen through the eyes of his friends. 

See Colvin, p. 212, and words of his friends reported in biographies. 

10. Keats's ambition as a motive force in his life. 

11. A discussion of the relative acuteness of Keats's 
senses, based on quotations. 

12. How well has Keats reproduced Greek scenes and 
the Greek spirit ? 

[13. Keats as a lover of beauty. 
See p. 302. 

14. Accuracy of the idea of Keats conveyed by Shelley's Adonais. 

15. Keats as an example of the imaginative type of man. 

The following extracts from Keats's letters should be helpful here : 

" As to the poetical Character itself (I mean that sort, of which, if I am 
anything, I am a member ; that sort, distinguished from the Words- 
worthian, or egotistical sublime ; which is a thing per se, and stands alone,) 



304 STUDY BOOK m ENGLISH LITERATURE 

it is not itself — it has no self — it is everything and nothing — it has no 
character — it enjoys light and shade; it lives in gusto, be it foul or 
fair, high or low, rich or poor, mean or elevated — it has as much 
delight in conceiving an Iago as an Imogen. What shocks the virtuous 
philosopher delights the chameleon poet. ... A poet is the most un- 
poetical of anything in existence, because he has no Identity ; he is contin- 
ually in for and filling some other body. The Sun, the Moon, the Sea, and 
men and women, who are creatures of impulse, are poetical, and have 
about them an unchangeable attribute ; the poet has none, no identity. 
... If then he has no self, and if I am a poet, where is the wonder that I 
should say I would write no more ? Might I not at that very instant have 
been cogitating on the characters of Saturn and Ops? It is a wretched 
thing to confess ; but it is a very fact, that not one word I ever utter can be 
taken for granted as an opinion growing out of my identical Nature. How 
can it when I have no Nature ? When I am in a room with people, if I ever 
am free from speculating on creations of my own brain, then, not myself 
goes home to myself, but the identity of every one in the room begins to 
press upon me, so that I am in a very little time annihilated." 

" I feel more and more every day, as my imagination strengthens, 
that I do not live in this world alone but in a thousand worlds — No 
sooner am I alone than shapes of epic greatness are stationed around me, 
and serve my Spirit the office which is equivalent to a King's bodyguard — 
then" ' Tragedy with sceptered pall comes sweeping by.' According to my 
state of mind I am Achilles shouting in the Trenches, or with Theocritus 
in the Vales of Sicily. Or I throw my whole being into Troilus, and 
repeating those lines, ' I wander like a lost soul upon the stygian Banks 
staying for waf tage,' I melt into the air with a voluptuousness so delicate 
that I am content to be alone." 

See also Letters, passim. 

16. Barrie's Sentimental Tommy as throwing light upon the im- 
aginative temperament. 

Study Keats's Letters, and extracts above. 

17. Is the apothecary's apprentice in Kipling's " Wireless" a 
counterpart of Keats ? 

This weird story, with its shadowy presence of Keats, is published in 
Traffics and Discoveries. 

18. Characteristics of youth in Keats' poetry. 

19. Comparison of Shelley and Keats as men ; as poets. 

20. If Keats had lived.] 



CHAPTER XXV 
DE QUINCEY 

"There are few courses of reading from which a young man of good 
natural intelligence would come away more instructed, charmed, and 
stimulated, or, to express the matter as definitely as possible, with his 
mind more stretched. Good natural intelligence, a certain fineness of 
fibre, and some amount of scholarly education, have to be presupposed, 
indeed, in all readers of De Quincey. But, even for the fittest readers, a 
month's complete and continuous reading of De Quincey would be too 
much. Better have him on the shelf, and take down a volume at intervals 
for one or two of the articles to which there may be an immediate at- 
traction. An evening with De Quincey in this manner will always be 
profitable." — Masson : De Quincey. 

Bibliography 

I. Works 

Collected Writings. New and enlarged edition. Edited by D. 
Masson. 14 vols. Edinburgh : Black. 1889-1890. 

II. Life 

Masson, D. : De Quincey. London. Macmillan. 1881. New 
York : Harper. 1882. English Men of Letters Series. 

Page, H. A. (pseudonym of A. H. Japp) : Life of Thomas De 
Quincey, Scribner. 

An early authority; contains many anecdotes. 
Mason, E. T. : Personal Traits of British Authors. New York : 
Scribner. 1885. 

Autobiographical Writings 

In these De Quincey gives vivid and interesting accounts of his own 
experiences. 

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. Works, vol. ii. 
Autobiographic Sketches. Works, vol. i. 
Literary Reminiscences. Works, vol. ii. 

305 



306 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

III. Criticism 

Minto, W. : " De Quincey's Style," in Manual of English Prose 
Literature, pt. i. 

Stephen, Sir L. : " Coleridge," in Hours in a Library. London : 
Smith and Elder. 1892. Vol. iii. 

Reading 

[The Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, in Works, vol. iii: 

Ch. i, first 20 pages. 
" Pleasures of Opium." 
u Pains of Opium." 

The English Mail Coach, pts. ii and iii, in Works, vol. xiii. 
Joan of Arc, in Works, vol. v. 

Other passages suggested for optional reading : 

The Bevolt of a Tartar Tribe, in Works, vol. vii. 
Murder as one. of the Fine Arts, in Works, vol. xiii. 
Literary Beminiscences, in Works, vol. ii. Choose a chapter 
dealing with a writer you like.] 

Life of De Quincey 

[1. Make a list of topics on the life of De Quincey. If necessary, 
choose among those suggested for previous authors any that seem to 
you adaptable to this case, and so modify them that they may apply 
specifically to De Quincey. Make your topics definite, interesting, 
and suggestive. Work out fully not only your own topics, but those 
suggested by the other students.] 

Works of De Quincey 

To the Teacher. — Students should now be able to deal profitably with 
somewhat more detailed matters of style. The topics below are intended 
only to suggest kinds of problems that may be studied to advantage. 
Those taken up should be handled thoroughly. 

[2. Study De Quincey's dreams. 

(1) Classify them according to subject. 

(2) What kinds of sensation came to him in his dreams ; e.g., 

sounds, colors ? 



DE QUINCEY 307 

" (3) Note instances where he traces to its source some feature 
of a dream. Draw a conclusion as to the origin of the 
stuff of his dreams in general. 
(4) What feelings accompanied his dreams? How strong 
were these feelings ? How agreeable were they ? 

3. Would the Confessions of an English Opium-Eater tend, on 
the whole, to lead people to make a trial of opium, or to give them a 
horror of it ? 

4. What means does De Quincey use in The English Mail Coach 
to intensify the suspense ? 

5. Judge the applicability of the term u fugue" in the title of the 
third part of The English Mail Coach. Instance other passages for 
which it may justly be claimed that they possess some of the proper- 
ties of music. 

6. "Many passages might be quoted from De Quincey of which the 
melody is so striking, as irresistibly to attract attention and make us 
linger lovingly over them, apart altogether from the matter they 
contain." 1 

Quote several such passages. 

7. " There is, first, the literature of knowledge, and, secondly, the lit- 
erature of power. The function of the first is, to teach ; the function of 
the second is, to move : the first is a rudder, the second, an oar or a sail." 

To which class do De Quincey's own writings belong ? 

8. Instance passages producing in the reader a distinct and strong 
feeling. To what emotions does De Quincey most often appeal ? 
What means of touching the heart does he employ ? Give examples. 

9. Adduce passages that illustrate each of the claims made for 
De Quincey by Professor Corson in the first sentence of the following 
passage : 

"For range of power, for great diversity of subject, for poetic, philo- 
sophic, and logical cast of mind, for depth of feeling, for an inspiring 
vitality of thinking, for periodic and impassioned prose which, running 
through the whole gamut of expression, is unequalled in English Litera- 
ture, no more educating author could be selected for advanced students 
than Thomas De Quincey. A good education in the language as a living 
organism could be got through his writings alone ; and his wealth and 
vitality of thought and feeling could hardly fail, unless opposed by ex- 

1 Nichols, H. G., Landmarks of English Literature, 



308 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

traordinary obtuseness, to excite and enliven, and strengthen, the best 
faculties of thought and feeling in any reader. How much a student 
might do for himself, by loyally reading all of De Quincey's works, as 
they are presented in Dr. Masson's edition! And by loyally reading, I do 
not mean accepting everything as gospel, but reading with an undivided 
mind and open heart; in short, giving the best of himself to the author, 
for the time being." 1 

10. What kinds of impressions does De Quincey describe best ? 
What impressions does he convey better than anybody else ? 

Instance passages conveying such impressions. 

11. " Like Bishop Berkeley, who commenced one of his treatises on the 
virtues of tar-water and ended it on the immortality of the soul, when 
he [De Quincey] . . . " 2 

What characteristic of De Quincey's style do you suppose the 
writer is going to point out ? Finish the sentence, as well as you can, 
embodying the probable thought of the author. 

12. "We have a right eagerly to ask: On this strongly marked tem- 
perament, so delicately imaginative and so keenly logical, so receptive 
and so retentive, a type alike of the philosopher and the poet, the scholar 
and the musician — on such a contemplative genius, what were the effects 
of so great and so constant indulgence in a drug noted for its power of 
heightening and extending, for a season, the whole range of the imagina- 
tive faculties? " 3 

Discuss the effects of opium-eating on De Quincey's writings (not 
temperament, as above), in regard to (a) subject-matter, (b) style. 

13. Using the Tables of Contents as evidence, deduce a list of the 
fields of knowledge with which De Quincey was familiar ; and enu- 
merate the kinds of writing represented by his works. 

Essay Subjects 

" Ah, reader, I would that the gods had made thee musical, that thou 
mightest comprehend the thousandth part of my labors in the evasion < 
cacophony! " — De Quincey. 

" Style . . . the incarnation of the thoughts." — De Quincey. 

1 The Aims of Literary Study. 

2 Davey, S. : Darwin, Carlyle, and Dickens. 

3 Carpenter, G. R., in Library of the World's Best Literature. 



DE QUINCEY 309 

1. Wordsworth's phrase, "The boy is father of the man," * as 
illustrated in the case of De Quincey. 

De Quincey applies it to his own case in a limited sense, in Autobio- 
graphic Sketches, 

2. ''Both Lamb and myself [De Quincey] had a furious love for non- 
sense — headlong nonsense. Excepting Professor Wilson, I have known 
nobody who had the same passion to the same extent." 2 

Write the conversation between the three at a mad interview. 

Kead widely in Lamb and in De Quincey, and look up Professor Wilson. 
Valuable personal details about all three men may be found in Mason : 
Personal Traits of British Authors. 

3. Would De Quincey have been justified in taking opium for the 
sake of experience, power, fame ? Eor all three ? 

4. Apology for De Quincey. 

5. Debate: Resolved, that De Quincey was justified in taking 
opium. 

6. De Quincey' s dreams. 
See pp. 306 f . 

7. The preponderance of the intellect in De Quincey. 
He writes of himself : 

"Without breach of truth or modesty, I may affirm that my life has 
been, on the whole, the life of a philosopher ; from my birth I was made an 
intellectual creature. . . . My proper vocation, as I well knew, was the 
exercise of the analytic understanding." 

8. \De Quincey's love for music, and its effects upon his writings. 

9. The effects of De Quincey's temperament upon his style. 

10. De Quincey as a member of the Romantic School. 

11. Effects upon De Quincey's writings of the opium habit. 

12. The "Druidism" 3 of De Quincey. 

13. Generalizations about De Quincey's use of rhythm, based on 
extracts. 

14. The humor of De Quincey. 

15. The sentence structure of De Quincey. 

16. The vocabulary of De Quincey. 

17. What may De Quincey do for those who read him "loyally " ? 
See p. 308. 

1 My Heart leaps up. 

2 Page, H. A. : Life of De Quincey. 

3 Masson: Preface to De Quincey's Works* 



CHAPTER XXVI 
SURVEY OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 

To the Teacher. — It is well to beware of being deceived by the apparent 
shortness of this section. It requires much time and study. Topic 2, for 
instance, is a sufficient assignment for at least one period of preparation. 
The teacher will find helpful comparisons of Romanticism with Classicism 
referred to in the bibliography on p. 238. 

1. What does the term « Romantic School now mean to 
you ? 

[2. Determine, and express in written words, the characteristic fea- 
tures of Romantic literature. In this difficult but delightful study, you 
will find it helpful to compare the Romantic writers with the Classicists. 
Turn to your summary of the characteristics of the latter. (See pp. 
206 f.) How were the Romanticists different ? Remember the quali- 
ties which a study of the age led you to expect in the literature. (See 
pp. 249 f.) And, third, review your estimates of the different Eoman- 
tic poets, and notice what qualities they had in common. Illustrate 
every generalization you make about the age by definite quotations 
from the authors of the Romantic School. 

3. Can you distinguish an essential spirit of the age, of which these 
characteristic qualities are each a manifestation ? 

4. " The Romantic revolt or renaissance, whichever word may be 
preferred." * Show the appropriateness first of one term, then of the 
other. Explain the expression, " The Renascence of Wonder. " (See 
p. 235.)] 

5. Is prose or poetry more characteristic of the Romantic 
Period ? Compare the state of things during the Romantic 
Period with that during the preceding age. Explain. 

1 Saintsbury, G. : History of Nineteenth Century Literature. 
310 



SURVEY OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 311 



Suggestions from which Essay Subjects may be Drawn 

To the Teacher. — The topics that follow afford material for a consider- 
able number of essay subjects. Let the student choose his own theme ; 
if he finds for himself a good subject not suggested here, so much the 
better. Let the student also invent his own title. Both subject and title 
should be approved by the teacher before composition is begun. 

[Let your subject be definite, practical, not too large to handle in 
your limits of time and space, and interesting to you personally. Make 
your title at once appropriate and attractive. 

1. Which of the Romantic poets loved each of the classes of natural 
objects mentioned below ? 



a. 


Mountains. 


e. 


The sea. 


b. 


Clouds. 


/• 


Flowers. 


c. 


Woods and wild places. 


g- 


Animals. 


ch 


Pastoral scenes. 


h. 


Ideal scenery. 



i. Rivers. 

Discuss the feeling of some one poet for one of these phenomena, using 
plenty of extracts ; or compare the feeling and the expression of that 
feeling as manifested in the work of two or more of the poets. 

E.g., Shelley's ideal landscapes ; comparison of Blake's attitude toward 
animals with that of Burns. 

2. Which poets had a special fondness for one or more of the arts 
other than poetry ? E.g., 

a. Music. c. Painting. 

b. Sculpture. d. Architecture. 

Choose subjects as before. 

3. Which were peculiarly influenced by some previous literature, as 
the Greek, the Italian, the Elizabethan English literature ? 

4. Compare the attitudes of the Romantic poets toward one of the 
following : 

a. The supernatural. e. Conventions. 

b. Religion. /. Emotion. 

c. The common. g. Women. 

d. Morals. h. Metrical form. 



312 STUDY BOOK IX ENGLISH LITERATUKE 



5. Compare the effects of the Erench Revolution on Wordsworth, 
Shelley, Byron, Keats. 

6. Point out the varying ways in which the love of freedom and the 
vital force of the Romantic movement showed themselves in the differ- 
ent members of the school. 

7. Discuss the love of the strange, the unusual, as manifested in the 
different Romantic poets. 

8. What aspect of Romanticism is best exemplified by each of the 
chief Romantic poets ?] 



CHAPTER XXVII 

GENERAL SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 

To the Teacher. — These topics may be used as the starting point of class 
discussion, or in some cases as the subjects of essays. 

1. Over how many centuries has the making of English 
literature extended ? 

2. Give each of the great periods of English literature an 
appropriate name. 

3. Construct a table showing the order and the relative 
length of the periods of English history that, from the point 
of view of literature, have been fruitful ; indicating also any 
that have been barren. 

A class of ingenious students can contrive a variety of ways in which to 
represent to the eye our literary history. 

4. Show how each period follows naturally upon the pre- 
ceding. 

5. What are the three periods referred to in the following 
passage ? 

" The first of these three periods being given, it tended to draw 
after it the other two in order ; as the wave heaped up before the wind 
furrows the sea behind it, and is then followed by a second." 1 

6. In which of the periods we have studied have the 
English people been most happy ? 

7. Judging from English literature in general, is the term 
" Merry England " appropriate ? 

1 Bascom, J. : Philosophy of English Literature. 
313 



314 STUDY BOOK IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

8. " The human harvest is never so fine as when cultivation opens 
up a new soil." Explain the meaning of this figure of Taine's. Do 
the facts of English literature bear him out ? 

9. "Peace, prosperity, and general intelligence are the necessary con- 
ditions for the creation of a great national literature — a truth that finds 
abundant exemplification in the age of Pericles in Athens, of Augustus in 
Rome, and of Louis XIV in France. " 1 

Find in the history of English literature evidence for or against this 
dictum. 

See Matthew Arnold : " The Function of Criticism at the Present Time," 
in Essays in Criticism, First Series. 

10. " What is excellent 
As God lives, is permanent. " 2 

Does this appear to be true in the history of English literature ? 

11. What importance for English readers has the fact that English 
literature includes both the Elizabethan and the Classic periods ? " 

12. " It is a sad day for a people when their art becomes divorced from 
the current of their life, when it comes to be looked on as something precious 
but unimportant, having nothing to do with their social structure, their 
education, their political ideas, their faith or their daily vocations." 3 
Point out any illustrations of this in the history of English literature. 

13. $'I intend to write the history of a literature, and to seek in it 
for the psychology of a people." 4 What can you infer from English 
literature about the psychology of the English race ? 

14. Here are several assertions about the English racial character. 
How far is each borne out by the literature ? 

a. " The English are a reflective people, as opposed to an impulsive, pas- 
sionate one. " 5 

b. " The cast of English character is also of an external, objective type, 
rather than of an internal, subjective one. " 6 

c. " The Anglo-Saxon nations, . . . though sometimes roused to strong 
but transient enthusiasm, are habitually singularly narrow, unapprecia- 
tive, and unsympathetic. The great source of their national virtues is 

1 Painter. 2 Emerson : Threnody. 

8 Carman, B. : The World* 's Best Poetry, Introduction. 

4 Taine : Introduction. 

5 Bascom, J. : Philosophy of English Literature. 6 Ibid. 



GENERAL SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 315 

the sense of duty, the power of pursuing a course which they believe to 
be right, independently of all considerations of sympathy or favor, of 
enthusiasm or success." * 

d. " What, then, so far as we can make it out, seems to be their [the 
Saxons'] leading mental feature ? Plainly, understanding, common-sense, 
— a faculty which never carries its possessor very high in creative litera- 
ture, though it may make him great as an acting and even thinking man." 

The context is interesting. The passage is taken from Lowell's 
" Chaucer," Works, vol. iii, p. 316. 

e. ". . . We can see the reflection of the national character ; its sturdy 
common sense ; the intellectual short-sightedness which enables it to 
grasp details whilst rejecting general systems ; the resulting tendency to 
compromise, which leads it to acquiesce in heterogeneous masses of 
opinions ; its humor, its deep moral feeling, its prejudices, its strong 
animal propensities, and so forth." 2 ] 

1 Lecky, W. E. H. : History of European Morals. 

2 Stephen, Sir L. : History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury. 




f^^^S 



English Literature 



The Arden Shakespeare. The plays in their literary aspect, each with introduction, inter 
pretative notes, glossary, and essay on metre. 25 cts. 

Bronson's History of American Literature. 384 pages. 80 cents. 

Burke's American Orations. (A. J. George.) Five complete selections. 50 cts. 

Burns's Select Poems. (A. J. George.) 118 poems chronologically arranged, with intn> 
duction, notes, and glossary. Illustrated. 75 cts. 

Coleridge's Principles of Criticism. (A. J. Georgk.) From the Biographia Literaria, 

With portrait. 60 cts. 
Cook's Judith. With introduction, translation, and glossary. Cloth. 170 pages. $1.00. 
Cook's The Bible and English Prose Style. 40 cts. 

Corson's Introduction to Browning. A guide to the study of Browning's poetry. Also 
has 33 poems with notts. With portrait of Browning. $1.00. 

Corson's Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. A critical study of Shakespeare's 
f art, with comments on nine plays. $1.00. 

Crawshaw's The Making of English Literature. An interpretative and historical guide 
for students. Map and illustrations. 484 pages. $1.25. 

Davidson's Prolegomena to Tennyson's In Memoriam. A critical analysis, with an index 
of the poem. 50 cts 

De Quincey's Confessions of an Opium Eater. (G. A. Wauchope.) 50 cts. 

Hall's Beowulf. A metrical translation. 75 cts Student's edition, 30 cts. 

Hawthorne and Lemmon's American Literature. Contains sketches, characterizations, 
and selections Illustrated with portraits #1.12. 

Hodgkin's Nineteenth Century Authors. Gives aids tor library study of 26 authors. 
Price, 5 cts each, or $3.00 per hundred. Complete in doth. 60 cts. 

Howes 's Primer of English Literature. Illustrated. 50 cents. 

Meiklejohn's History of English Language and Literature. Revised. 60 cts. 

Milton's Select Poems. (A, P, Walker.) Illustrated, 488 pages. 50 cts 

Moulton's Four Years of Novel-Reading. A reader's guide c 50 cts, 

Moulton's Literary Study of the Bible. An account of the leading forms of literature 
represented, without reference to theological matters. $2.00. 

Plumptre's Translation of Aeschylus. With biography and appendix. $1.00. 

Plumptre's Translation of Dante. Five vols. Illustrated. Student's edit.on, 50 cts. pel 
vol. Library edition, $4.00 per set. 

Plumptre's Translation of Sophocles. With biography and appendix. $1.00. 

Shelley's Prometheus Unbound. (Vida D. Scudder.) 60 cts. 

Simonds's Introduction to the Study of English Fiction. With illustrative selections 
80 cts. Briefer edition, without illustrative selections. Boards. 30 cts. 

Simonds's Sir Thomas Wyatt and His Poems. With critical analysis. 50 cts. 

Webster's Speeches. (A. J. George.) Nine select speeches with notes. 75 cts. 

Whitcomb's The Study of a Novel. 2-1 pages. $1.25. 

Wordsworth's Prefaces and Essays on Poetry. (A. J. George.) 50 cts. 

Wordsworth's Prelude. (A. J. George.) Annotated. 75 cts. 

Selections from Wordsworth. (A. J George). 168 poems chosen with a view to illus= 
trate the growth of the poet's mind and art. 75 cts. 

See also our list of books in Higher English and English Classics. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., Publishers, Boston, New York, Chicago 



Higher English. 



Bray's History of English Critical Terms. A vocabulary of 1400 critical terms used 
in literature and art, with critical and historical data for their study. $1.00. 

Cook's Judith. With introduction, translation and glossary. Octavo. 170 pages. $1.00. 

Espenshade's Essentials of Composition and Rhetoric. A working text-book for 
higher schools and colleges. $1.00. 

Hall's Beowulf. A metrical translation of this ancient epic. Octavo. Cloth, 75 cents. 
Paper, 30 cents. 

Kluge and Lutz's English Etymology. A select glossary for use in the study of histor. 
ical grammar. 60 cents. 

Lewis's Inductive Rhetoric. For schools and colleges. 90 cents. 

MacEwan's The Essentials of Argumentation. A systematic discussion of principles, 
with illustrative extracts ; full analysis of several masterpieces, and a list of proposi- 
tions for debate. $1.12. 

MacEwan's The Essentials of the English Sentence. Presents a review of the essen- 
tials of grammar and bridges the transition to rhetoric. 75 cents. 

Meiklejohn's The English Language. Part I— English Grammar; Part II — Compo- 
sition and Versification ; Part III — History of the English Language; Part IV — 
History of English Literature. $1.20. 

Meiklejohn's English Grammar. Contains Parts I and II of Meiklejohn's The English 
Language, with exercises. 80 cents. 

0' Conor's Rhetoric and Oratory. A manual of precepts and principles, with masterpieces 
for analysis and study. $1.12. 

Pearson's The Principles of Composition. Begins with the composition as a whole. 
Paragraphs, sentences and words are treated later, and in this order. 50 cents. 

Smith's The Writing of the Short Story. An analytical study. 25 cents. 

Strang's Exercises in English. Examples in Syntax, Accidence, and Style, for criticism 
and correction. New edition, revised and enlarged. 45 cents. 

Whitcomb's The Study Of a Novel. Analytic and synthetic work for college classes. 

William's Composition and Rhetoric. Concise, practical, and thorough, with littlt- 
theory and much practice. 90 cents. 



Monographs on English. 
Bowen's Historical Study of the O-vowel. Cloth. 109 pp. 
Genung : s Study of Rhetoric in the College Course. Paper. 32 pp. 
Hempl's Chaucer's Pronunciation. Stiff Paper. 39 pp. . 
Huffcut's English in the Preparatory School. Paper. 28 pp. 
Woodward's Study of English. Paper. 25 pp. .... 

See also our list of books in Eleme?itary English, 
English Literature and English Classics. 



$1.25 

.50 
.25 



D.C. HEATH & CO., Publishers, Boston, New York, Chicago 



CT 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 






